BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


IRRIGATION 


A  SKETCH  OF 

ITS  HISTORY  AND  PRACTICE 

IN 

VARIOUS  COUNTRIES 


BY 


• 

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Ha 


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LIBRA 


£  //Zf  following  papers,  with  one  exception,  first  appeared 
in  the  Arizona  u  Gazette"  and,  at  the  request  of  many  farmers  and 
fruit-growers,  they  are  now  presented  in  pamphlet  form.  The  sub- 
ject of  irrigation  has  not  yet  received  that  attention  from  the  residents 
of  the  "  dry  belt "  which  its  magnitude  demands.  Yet  there  is  no 
industrial  question  of  greater  importance  to  the  people  of  Western 
America;  for  upon  an  intelligent  mastery  of  the  true  principles 
underlying  the  control  and  application  of  water  to  the  thirsty  soil 
must  rest  the  future  growth  and  prosperity  of  that  region.  This  is 
especially  true  of  Arizona,  whose  grand  agricultural  possibilities  are 
gradually  becoming  known  and  appreciated. 

In  this  sketch  I  have  aimed  to  present,  in  a  condensed  form, 
all  available  facts,  with  the  hope  that  it  may  serve  to  dispel  some  of 
the  dense  ignorance  that  prevails  in  Arizona  on  this  siibject.  For 
much  of  the  data  in  these  papers,  I  am  indebted  to  PoweWs  "  Lands 
of  the  Arid  Regions  /"  the  Reports  of  the  State  Engineers  of 
California  and  Colorado ;  the  Report  of  Hon.  A.  Deakin  to  the 
Governor  of  Victoria,  N.  S.  W.,  and  the  Proceedings  of  the  Riverside 
Irriga tion  Con  ven  tion . 

P.  H. 

PHOENIX,  ARIZONA,  April  25,  1886. 


IRRIGATION. 


An  Outline  of  its  History  in  the  Old  World  and  the  New. 


HE  cultivation  of  the  soil  by  the  artificial  application  of  water  is,  without  doubt, 
the  oldest  system  of  husbandry  known  to  man.  If  we  accept  the  Biblical  history 
of  the  creation,  Adam,  after  that  unlucky  affair  of  the  apple,  was  compelled  to 
build  irrigating  ditches  in  order  to  raise  a  crop  on  the  dry  plains  of  Mesopotamia ;  and 
when  that  ancient  mariner,  Noah,  found  himself  high  and  dry  after  his  lengthy  cruise, 
he  planted  the  vine  on  the  sunny  slopes  of  Ararat,  and,  by  means  of  irrigation,  produced 
the  exhilarating  beverage  which,  later  on,  involved  the  old  patriarch  in  that  awkward 
escapade  so  graphically  described  in  sacred  history.  So  that  if  antiquity  be  a  badge 
of  honor  or  distinction,  this  mode  of  agriculture  is  certainly  entitled  to  high  consideration, 
for  its  progress  can  be  traced  through  all  the  ages  to  the  times  when  Adam  delved  and 
Eve  spun  and  "  gentlemen  "  were  not  so  numerous  as  in  latter  days. 

The  powerful  kingdoms  of  the  ancient  world  owed  all  their  greatness  to  the  practice 
of  irrigation,  and  the  corner-stones  of  their  prosperity  and  civilization  rested  upon  this 
system  of  tillage.  Babylon  and  Nineveh,  whose  grandeur  and  extent  is  attested  by  their 
ruins,  derived  their  wealth  and  magnificence  from  the  elaborate  system  of  canals  which 
covered  the  valleys  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris.  Those  immense  waterways  made 
of  that  region  one  of  the  most  fertile  countries  of  the  earth — the  seat  of  the  learning,  the 
arts,  the  sciences,  and  the  splendor  of  the  earlier  ages.  Both  the  Assyrians  and  the 
Medes  were  an  agricultural  people,  and  carried  the  art  of  artificial  cultivation  to  a  very 
high  degree.  Persia,  the  mightiest  monarchy  of  ancient  times,  was  then,  as  now,  a 
rainless  region,  yet  irrigation  made  of  it  the  seat  of  an  empire  extending  from  the  Indus 
to  the  Hellespont.  The  pages  of  history  shine  with  the  achievements  of  this  great  nation, 
and  the  wealth  and  dazzling  magnificence  of  the  courts  of  Xerxes  and  Darius  is  the 
theme  of  the  historian  and  the  poet.  Yet  this  vast  fabric  of  empire  rested  upon  the 
canals  which  Brought  beauty  and  verdure  to  the  plains  and  valleys  of  Iran.  Egypt,  the 
seat  of  our  earliest  civilization,  the  land  of  religious  thought  and  philosophical  research, 
from  which  many  ancient  nations  derived  their  sacred  and  secular  ideas  of  government, 
practiced  irrigation  from  the  remotest  ages.  The  mighty  monuments  of  that  early  time, 
whose  ruins  are  the  wonder  of  our  modern  world,  speak  mutely,  yet  eloquently,  of  the 
power  and  greatness  of  ancient  Egypt.  But  the  whole  structure  of  mental  progress  and 
material  power  were  dependent  upon  the  network  of  canals  through  the  Valley  of  the 
Nile.  A  rich  and  a  goodly  land  it  was — the  granary  of  the  ancient  world — and,  to-day, 
after  constant  cultivation  for  unnumbered  ages,  this  famous  valley  remains  one  of  the 
most  productive  on  the  globe. 

In  India  and  China  irrigation  has  been  carried  on  since  man  first  tilled  the  soil  in 
those  olden  lands.  The  Oriental  magnificence  of  the  potentates  of  historic  Hindostan,  the 


8  IRRIGATION. 

gorgeousness  of  their  courts  and  the  wealth  and  beauty  of  their  cities,  have  tempted  the 
cupidity  of  successive  conquerors.  The  swarming  hive  of  humanity,  who  dwell  in 
southern  Asia,  have  made  of  that  portion  of  the  globe  a  veritable  garden,  solely  by  the 
aid  of  irrigation.  Greece  and  Italy  have  practiced  the  art  of  artificial  cultivation  ever 
since  Cecrops  laid  the  foundation  of  Athens  or  Remulus  chose  the  site  of  the  Eternal 
City.  The  great  cities  which  flourished  around  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean, 
including  Carthage,  the  warlike  rival  of  Rome,  fostered  and  encouraged  irrigation,  for 
upon  it  rested  their  wealth,  their  power  and  their  very  existence.  When  the  Roman 
eagles  were  planted  in  Gaul  and  in  the  Iberian  peninsula,  the  Roman  law  of  waters  was 
made  a  part  of  the  civil  polity  of  the  conquered  provinces ;  and  the  system  of  irrigation 
was  perfected  and  assisted  by  the  establishment  of  wise  regulations  and  the  construction 
of  massive  aqueducts,  canals  and  reservoirs.  And  to  this  day,  the  just,  equitable  and  far- 
seeing  enactments  of  that  empire,  continue  to  bear  fruit  on  the  fertile  plains  of  Lombardy 
and  Andalusia,  and  the  valleys  of  Southern  France.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  nearly  all 
the  great  nations  of  antiquity  rose  and  flourished  in  lands  where  the  artificial  application 
of  water  to  the  soil  was  a  necessity  for  the  growth  of  crops.  The  ruins  of  dead  cities 
which  strew  the  now  desolate  regions  of  Asia  Minor,  Syria  and  Northern  Africa,  were 
once  the  centers  of  wealth  and  luxury,  culture  and  power.  Canals  and  aqueducts  brought 
beauty  and  productiveness  to  the  now  barren  wastes;  and  dense  populations  once  lived 
and  labored  where  the  jackal's  cry  is  now  the  only  sound  that  disturbs  the  ear  of  the 
wandering  tourist. 

IN  THE  NEW  WORLD. 

Irrigation  was  carried  on  by  the  semi-civilized  races  of  the  new  world  long  before 
the  Genoese  explorer  sighted  the  shores  of  San  Salvador.  The  ancient  Mexicans  and 
Peruvians  brought  the  art  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection.  When  that  intrepid  soldier  of 
fortune,  Cortez,  conquered  the  empire  of  the  Montezumas,  he  found  on  the  plain  of 
Anahuac  a  large  population,  and  the  country  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation  by  the  aid 
of  numerous  irrigating  ditches.  And  when  his  band  of  daring  adventurers  first  gazed 
upon  the  Valley  of  Mexico  and  the  Aztec  Capital,  they  were  enraptured  by  the  lovely 
panorama  of  "green  meadows,  golden  fields  and  blossoming  gardens,"  while,  crossing  it  in 
every  direction  like  beautiful  silver  lace  work,  the  numerous  water-courses  flashed  back 
the  rays  of  bright  sunshine.  In  Peru,  the  extensive  aqueducts,  reservoirs  and  canals  of 
the  Incas  astonished  the  Spanish  invaders.  Such  strong  and  costly  irrigating  works  no 
nation  of  ancient  or  modern  times  ever  constructed.  But  earlier  than  the  records  of 
authentic  history  irrigation  was  practiced  by  unknown  races  on  the  Pacific  Coast  of  the 
western  world ;  and  the  traces  of  artificial  water-courses  which  Coronado  encountered  in 
his  expedition  through  Arizona,  in  1540,  would  show  that  this  system  of  agriculture  dates 
from  pre-historic  times  in -the  new  continent. 

With  the  admission  of  Texas  to  the  Union,  begins  the  history  of  irrigation  in  the 
United  States.  The  acquisition  of  California  and  New  Mexico,  later  on,  largely  increased 
the  irrigable  territory,  but  Americans  did  not  engage  in  it  to  any  great  extent  until  the 
settlement  of  the  Mormons  in  the  Valley  of  Salt  Lake.  They  found  there  a  barren  desert 
and  have  transformed  it  into  a  blooming  garden.  Few  people  have  any  icjea  of  the  vast 
territory  within  the  boundaries  of  the  republic  that  is  entirely  dependent  upon  this  method 
of  agriculture  for  the  production  of  crops.  According  to  Maj.  Powell,  the  "  arid  region  " 
extends  from  the  100th  meridian  to  the  Coast  Range,  and  from  the  boundary  of  British 
America  to  the  line  of  Mexico,  being  1500  miles  in  its  widest  part,  from  east  to  west,  and 
over  1000  miles  from  north  to  south.  This  vast  area  contains  more  than  1,000,000 
square  miles,  or  640,000,000  acres — being  nearly  one  third  of  the  whole  Union.  It  is 
five  times  larger  than  France,  and  more  than  fourteen  times  greater  than  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland.  Nearly  one  half  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  one  third  of  Texas  and  Oregon, 
three  fifths  of  California,  the  whole  of  Colorado  and  Nevada,  nearly  half  of  Dakota,  a 
third  of  Washington  Territory,  together  with  the  whole  of  Wyoming,  New  Mexico,  Utah, 
Montana,  Idaho  and  Arizona,  are  embraced  within  the  "  arid  region "  and  must  rely 


IRRIGATION. 

mainly  upon  irrigation  for  permanent  progress  and  prosperity.  Of  this  vast  territory 
it  is  estimated  that  not  more  than  four  or  five  per  cent  can  ever  be  reclaimed  and  made 
productive. 

During  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years  this  method  of  tillage  has  made  rapid  strides  in 
the  United  States.  It  is  estimated  there  are  over  2,500,000  acres  now  cultivated  in  this 
way,  and  the  total  length  of  the  canals  within  the  dry  belt  is  put  at  12,000  miles.  In 
the  State  of  California  alone,  the  value  of  irrigated  lands  and  works  is  nearly  $200,000,000, 
while  the  value  of  its  yearly  product  from  irrigated  vineyards  and  orchards  is  more  than 
$15,000,000.  Colorado  has  over  1,000,000  acres  watered  by  irrigating  ditches,  and  the 
value  of  the  crops  raised  in  1884  was  over  $7,000,000.  In  Utah  there  are  nearly  700 
miles  of  canals  costing  $2,500,000  and  650,000  acres  under  tillage.  No  reliable  data  on 
the  subject  can  be  had  from  New  Mexico,  but  it  is  believed  its  cultivated  acreage  will  not 
fall  short  of  Utah.  Nevada  is  credited  with  having  80,000  acres  watered  by  800  miles 
of  canals,  while  western  Kansas  has  over  300  miles  of  main  irrigating  ditches,  costing 
half  a  million  of  dollars  and  reclaiming  600,000  acres.  These  figures  will  convey  some 
idea  of  the  magnitude  and  importance  which  the  irrigating  system  has  already  attained 
in  the  United  States.  And  the  efforts  at  reclamation  thus  far  may  be  considered  as  little 
more  than  tentative.  Our  knowledge  of  this  system  of  agriculture  is  yet  crude  and 
imperfect,  but  with  that  marvelous  adaptation  to  surrounding  conditions,  so  marked  a  trait 
of  the  American  character,  it  is  safe  to  predict  that  another  quarter  of  a  century  will  see 
a  larger  area  reclaimed  and  a  more  perfect  water  system  in  western  America  than  in  any 
other  portion  of  the  globe. 

Although  the  United  States  cannot  show  such  massive  and  enduring  irrigation  works 
as  India,  Italy,  or  Spain,  yet  marked  progress  in  this  branch  of  engineering  is  seen  within 
the  last  half  dozen  years.  Among  the  States  and  Territories  of  the  arid  belt,  Colorado  is 
entitled  to  first  place  for  the  most  substantial  and  elaborate  system  of  artificial  waterways. 
Some  of  those  deserve  mention  here.  The  wreir  of  the  South  Platte  Canal  is  120  feet 
long,  from  the  cliff  on  one  side  to  its  waste  gate  of  solid  masonry,  24  feet  wide,  on  the 
other.  By  means  of  a  frame  work  of  timbers,  12x12,  which  are  bolted  to  the  bedrock, 
filled  and  planked  on  the  face  with  six-inch  pieces,  it  raises  the  water  to  the  level  of  a  600 
foot  tunnel.  This  tunnel  is  20  feet  high,  16  feet  wide,  hewn  out  of  solid  rock  at  a  cost  of 
$60,000.  After  passing  through  the  tunnel  the  water  enters  a  flume  2,640  feet  in  length, 
28  feet  wide  and  7  feet  deep,  which  cost  $100,000.  The  waste  gate  and  head  gate  are 
protected  by  a  substantial  boom  75  feet  in  length,  built  of  12x12  timbers.  These  admit 
the  water  through  bars  below  the  surface,  and  protect  the  works  from  floating  trees 
during  high  floods.  This  canal  is  100  miles  long.  The  weir  across  the  North  Poudre  is 
a  fine  piece  of  engineering  skill  and  has  withstood  some  of  the  fiercest  of  Rocky  Mountain 
floods.  It  crosses  a  deep  gorge,  160  feet  wide  from  wrall  to  wall,  and  is  in  the  form  of  an 
arch  bending  up  stream.  The  upper  part  is  composed  of  cribs  filled  with  stones,  while 
the  lower  face  is  formed  of  three  steps  of  solid  masonry  so  keyed  into  each  other  that  the 
pressure  wedges  them  the  more  firmly.  This  canal  has  a  mile  of  flumes,  and  the  cost  of 
constructing  its  first  mile  was  $50,000. 

A  large  amount  of  capital  has  been  invested  in  irrigating  enterprises  in  California, 
but,  owing  to  different  conditions,  the  weirs  and  head  gates  do  not  demand  such  a  costly 
outlay  as  those  of  Colorado.  The  Merced  Canal,  now  under  construction,  will  be  100 
miles  long  and  will  reclaim  300,000  acres  at  a  cost  of  $1,000,000.  This  great  ditch 
passes  through  one  tunnel  1,600  feet  in  length,  solid  rock.  The  San  Joaquin  and 
Kings  River  Canal  is  78  miles  long,  and  60  feet  wide.  The  "  76 "  Canal  in  Fresno 
County  is  50  miles  long,  with  a  width  of  50  feet.  At  Pasadena  the  water  is  carried 
from  the  source  of  supply  by  700  feet  of  fluming,  thence  through  an  iron  pipe,  three 
miles  long  and  12  inches  in  diameter,  to  a  cemented  reservoir.  From  this  reservoir 
pipes  convey  it  to  the  land  to  be  irrigated.  At  Redlands,  San  Bernardino  County,  there 
are  six  miles  of  iron  piping,  while  at  Ontario  $50,000  has  been  spent  on  a  tunnel  to 
develop  water.  The  Dodge  City  Canal,  in  Western  Kansas,  is  90  miles  long  and  50  feet 
wide,  while  the  "  Great  Eastern,"  in  the  same  State,  has  a  length  of  60  miles,  with  a  width 
of  40  feet.  The  largest  irrigation  head  work  in  the  United  States  is  that  of  the  Eureka 


1 0  IRRIGATION. 

Canal,  in  Kansas.  It  is  1500  feet  long,  10  feet  high  and  diverts  five  feet  of  water  through 
the  banks  of  the  Arkansas  into  a  canal  30  feet  wide  at  the  bottom,  and  80  miles  in  length. 

The  outlay  on  some  canal  enterprises  has  been  large.  The  San  Joaquin  Valley 
waterway  cost  $1 ,300,000 ;  the  South  Platte  Canal,  $750,000 ;  the  North  Poudre,  $250,000 ; 
the  Salt  Lake  ditch  about  the  same,  while  in  India  it  is  claimed  that  the  British  govern- 
ment has  expended  over  $100,000,000  for  this  purpose. 

Reservoirs  for  the  catchment  and  storage  of  water  have  been  in  use  from  the  remotest 
times  in  all  irrigating  countries.  Massive  and  costly  works  of  this  character  are  found  in 
Spain,  Italy,  Central  Asia,  Persia,  India,  Northern  Africa,  Mexico  and  in  South  America. 
Although  but  of  recent  origin  in  the  United  States,  their  benefits  have  already  been 
demonstrated  and  their  number  is  rapidly  increasing.  In  Colorado,  several  canal  com- 
panies are  adding  a  chain  of  such  reservoirs  as  an  adjunct  to  their  water  supply.  The 
largest  is  connected  with  the  Big  Thompson  Canal,  and  covers  four  hundred  and  fifty  acres 
to  a  depth  of  thirty-five  feet,  twenty-one  feet  of  which  is  available.  This  is  sufficient  to 
water  12,000  acres.  The  largest  reservoir  now  in  use  in  the  United  States,  is  in  Bear 
Valley,  California,  where  a  wall  of  strong  masonry  three  hundred  feet  long  and  sixty 
feet  high  holds  8,000,000,000  gallons  of  water.  This  inland  lake  will  give  a  continuous 
stream  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  cubic  feet  per  second,  for  one  hundred  days,  sufficient  to 
supply  50,000  acres.  The  cost  of  the  work  was  $60,000.  There  is  a  project  now  on  foot 
in  Colorado,  for  the  construction  of  an  immense  reservoir  in  the  foothills  of  the  Rockies. 
It  will  have  a  storage  capacity  sufficient  for  the  supply  of  100,000  acres,  and  will  be 
tapped  by  a  canal  eighty  miles  long  and  seven  feet  deep. 

This  fragmentary  outline  may  help  to  give  a  faint  idea  of  the  magnitude  and  importance 
of  this  system  of  agriculture.  To-day,  nearly  one-half  of  the  human  race  depend  upon 
it  for  existence.  For  the  people  of  Arizona,  it  is  a  question  of  vital  interest.  The  future 
growth  and  permanent  prosperity  of  our  territory  depends  mainly  upon  the  successful 
solution  of  the  irrigating  problem  in  the  valleys  of  Southern  Arizona. 


THE  "DUTY"  AND  COST  OF  WATER. 


kH AT  is  known  as  the  "  duty "  of  water  is  that  certain  quantity  required  to 
produce  a  crop  on  a  given  area  of  land.  This  quantity  varies  in  different  countries, 
owing  to  climatic  conditions,  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  kind  of  crop.  On 
the  plains  of  Lombardy  it  is  estimated  that  one  cubic  foot  of  water  flowing  per  second,  will 
irrigate  90  acres;  in  France,  100  acres;  in  India,  from  150  to  400  acres;  in  Algeria, 
from  300  to  400  acres,  in  Spain,  as  high  as  1,000  acres.  At  Pasadena,  California,  the 
duty  of  one  cubic  foot  of  water  reaches  1,665  acres;  while  at  Lugonia,  in  the  same  State, 
by  means  of  sub-irrigation,  8,000  acres  have  been  made  productive.  At  Sierra  Madre, 
580  acres  are  cultivated  by  this  quantity  of  water ;  at  Ontario  and  Redlands,  400  acres ; 
Los  Angeles  and  Anaheim,  200  acres;  at  Riverside,  300  acres;  at  Fresno,  160  acres;  in 
Utah,  from  100  to  150  acres,  and  in  Colorado,  from  80  to  150  acres.  In  the  older  irrigat- 
ing countries  the  unit  of  water  measurement  is  the  flow  of  a  cubic  foot  per  second.  This 
is  a  reliable  and  definite  standard ;  but  in  nearly  all  the  irrigated  regions  of  the  United 


IBRIGATION.  1 1 

States,  the  "  miner's  inch  "  is  the  unit  generally  used.  This  .mode  of  measuring  water  is 
a  legacy  of  the  early  mining  days  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  It  is  as  variable  and  unreliable 
as  the  Roman  pace,  and  according  to  Mr.  Hall,  State  Engineer  of  California,  is  an 
"  indefinite  quantity."  It  varies  with  the  altitude  and  the  temperature  of  the  water  all  the 
way  from  1,670  cubic  feet  to  2,680  cubic  feet  in  twenty-four  hours.  At  Columbia  Hill, 
in  California,  a  series  of  experiments  showed  that  a  miner's  inch,  under  a  six-inch  pressure, 
discharged  2,267  cubic  feet  in  twenty-four  hours,  while  at  North  Bloomfield,  same  State, 
the  results  with  the  same  pressure  were  2,159  cubic  feet,  in  twenty-four  hours.  These 
figures  show  how  variable  and  uncertain  is  this  measurement,  and  how  difficult  it  is  to 
determine  the  exact  duty  of  water  in  countries  where  the  system  maintains.  In  California, 
the  miner's  inch  is  generally  the  discharge  under  a  four-inch  pressure,  while  in  Colorado, 
the  pressure  established  by  law  is  six  inches.  This  would  give  about  fifty  miner's  inches 
to  the  cubic  foot  in  the  former  State,  and  about  forty  in  the  latter.  The  State  engineers 
of  both  commonwealths  have  urged  the  adoption  of  the  cubic  foot  as  the  standard  unit, 
and  doubtless  their  recommendations  will  be  incorporated  in  the  laws  of  their  respective 
States. 

The  quantity  of  water  required  to  produce  a  crop  on  a  given  area,  varies  with  the 
nature  of  the  soil.  A  coarse,  sandy  and  porous  soil  will  sometimes  take  ten  times  the 
quantity  requisite  for  heavy  clay  or  adobe.  With  a  compact  and  solid  soil  the  floodings 
should  be  light  and  frequent,  while  with  that  of  a  more  porous  nature,  they  should  be 
heavier  but  given  at  longer  intervals.  What  is  known  as  "  capillary  attraction  "  exerts 
a  marked  influence  on  the  irrigation  of  some  soils. 


CAPILLARY  ATTRACTION. 

The  principle  may  be  illustrated  by  placing  a  tube  of  glass,  whose  bore  will  admit 
a  single  hair  and  open  at  both  ends,  vertically,  in  a  basin  of  water,  with  the  lower  end 
immersed.  The  water  is  observed  to  rise  and  stand  within  the  tube  at  a  higher  level  than 
the  water  outside.  This  action  of  water  is  known  as  capillary  attraction.  Another  com- 
mon illustration  of  the  principle  is  shown  by  suspending  a  towel  so  that  its  lower  end 
rests  in  water ;  in  a  short  time  the  water  will  rise  in  the  meshes  of  the  towel  to  a  certain 
height  but  no  higher.  And  so  a  stratum  of  earth  whose  base  rests  in  water,  will  take  up 
the  liquid  to  a  certain  height — no  farther.  If  two  tubes  of  glass  be  used  and  one  has  a 
smaller  bore  than  the  other,  the  water  in  the  smaller  will  rise  to  the  greater  height.  And 
so  it  is  in  soils  of  different  texture — the  water  will  rise  to  the  greatest  height  in  the  finest 
grained.  On  heavy,  alluvial  soils,  capillary  attraction  is  much  greater  and  the  water  will 
rise  higher  than  in  that  which  is  loose  and  sandy.  It  is  supposed  that  heat  has  consider- 
able influence  on  this  action  of  water.  In  California  and  in  other  countries  with  a  high 
summer  temperature,  it  is  much  greater  than  in  Colorado  and  regions  with  a  severe  winter 
climate. 

NATURE  OF  CROPS  AND  LAND. 

The  duty  of  water  is  also  very  materially  affected  by  the  nature  of  the  crops. 
Small  grains  and  grasses  require  much  more  than  fruits.  In  Colorado,  where  grain  is  the 
principal  crop,  there  is  a  lavish  use  of  water,  the  average  depth  of  the  floodings  during  the 
season  being  fourteen  inches.  Over-irrigation  is  practiced  in  that  State  very  generally, 
and  its  injurious  effects  are  shown  by  the  "rust"  which  very  often  attacks  the  crop.  In 
the  fruit-growing  regions  of  Southern  California,  from  six  to  ten  acres  are  now  cultivated 
by  an  inch  of  water.  Oranges  are  watered  three  or  four  times  during  the  summer.  Vines 
require  two  or  three  irrigations  during  the  first  year.  It  is  well  known  that  the  roots  of 
this  plant  will  penetrate  ten  or  twelve  feet,  and  if  moisture  is  encountered  at  that  depth, 
they  need  no  surface  irrigation.  Careful  handling  of  the  water  can  do  wonders,  and  in 
portions  of  California,  where  sub-irrigation  prevails,  the  duty  of  water  has  been  increased 
twenty-fold.  Winter  flooding  is  also  found  to  effect  a  large  saving,  and  the  plan  is  now 
generally  followed  where  cereals  are  the  principal  crop. 


12  IRRIGATION. 

The  quantity  of  water  required  for  new  land  is  much  greater  than  for  that  which 
has  been  under  continuous  cultivation.  Therefore  the  duty  of  water  is  greater  in  old 
irrigating  countries  than  in  new.  When  the  Mormons  first  settled  at  Salt  Lake,  there  was 
only  sufficient  water  to  cultivate  800  acres  from  a  certain  source,  while  to-day,  from  the 
same  source,  5,000  acres  are  made  productive.  In  the  Mormon  Colony  of  Bountiful, 
.where  at  first  only  a  few7  families  could  live,  there  are  now  nearly  4,000  people,  and  with 
the  same  water  supply.  Continuous  irrigation  closes  the  pores  of  the  soil  with  an  infiltra- 
tion of  rich  silt,  so  that  it  absorbs  more  slowly  and  retains  the  moisture  much  longer.  But 
too  much  water  makes  the  land  cold,  injures  crops,  and  eventually  destroys  the  productive 
.capacity  of  the  soil.  This  practice  of  over-irrigation  is  followed  in  nearly  every  portion 
of  the  United  States  where  artificial  cultivation  is  carried  on.  Competent  authority  has 
said  "there  is  six  times  too  much  water  used  in  Colorado,  and  four  times  too  much  in 
California."  The  injurious  effects  of  overflooding  is  seen  in  the  rust  in  grain,  and  the 
insipid  quality  of  fruit. 

OVERFLOODING. 

The  experience  of  the  Fresno  Colony,  in  California,  is  a  striking  example  of  excessive 
saturation.  Fifteen  years  ago  the  place  was  a  desert,  and  water  could  not  be  reached  at 
a  less  depth  than  forty,  and  from  that  to  eighty  feet.  The  first  canal  taken  out,  with  a 
capacity  of  20,000  inches,  was  so  greedily  drank  up  by  the  thirsty  soil  that  it  had  nearly 
all  disappeared  before  it  reached  the  small  area  brought  under  cultivation.  To-day,  there 
are  fifteen  canals  drawing  their  supply  from  the  same  source — Kings  River — with  a 
cultivated  area  of  more  than  60,000  acres.  Water  can  now  be  struck  anywhere  on  the  plain, 
at  a  depth  of  ten  feet,  and  in  many  places  at  six  feet.  The  soil  has  taken  up  the  water 
like  a  sponge,  until  it  can  hold  no  more.  The  once  "  arid  region  "  is  thoroughly  saturated, 
and  irrigation  by  "flooding"  has,  in  many  instances,  been  abandoned,  the  "seepage"  being 
all  sufficient  to  raise  a  crop  on  many  farms  and  vineyards.  Where  once  the  competition 
for  water  was  keen,  suits  are  now  being  brought  against  canal  companies  for  excessive 
saturation ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  once  parched  plain  there  are  patches  of  artificial  morass 
from  over-irrigation !  One  of  the  largest  vineyards  has  not  been  watered  in  two  years, 
and  the  owner  has  actually  been  compelled  to  dig  ditches  to  a  depth  of  six  feet  to  drain 
his  land !  There  is  a  wide  difference  in  the  quantity  of  water  which  two  neighbors,  having 
exactly  the  same  soils,  will  use  during  the  season.  One  will  require  three  times  as  much 
as  the  other ;  but  the  best  results  are  obtained  in  all  lands  by  the  use  of  the  least  quantity 
of  water ;  and  it  is  also  a  fact  well  established  by  experience,  that  soils  carefully  cultivated 
take  much  less  water  than  those  which  are  neglected. 

The  loss  by  evaporation  and  absorption  is  very  large,  and  presents  another  difficulty 
in  determining  the  duty  of  water.  The  present  system  of  loose,  open  waterways,  which 
prevails  in  the  United  States,  is  a  most  wasteful  one,  entailing  a  loss  of  from  twenty-five  to 
fifty  per  cent,  and  sometimes  much  greater.  A  canal  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  took  in 
ninety  cubic  feet  at  its  head  and  delivered  only  fourteen  cubic  feet,  twenty-eight  miles 
away !  The  lateral  ditches  increase  this  loss  and  the  farmer  only  receives  a  small  portion 
of  what  he  pays  for.  Under  the  present  system  it  is  believed  that  fully  one-half  the  water 
taken  out  is  lost  before  it  reaches  the  irrigator.  Too  many  canals  are  mainly  the  cause  of 
this  great  loss.  In  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  there  are  thirty-two  ditches,  where  eight  would 
be  sufficient;  and  at  Fresno  there  are  half  a  dozen  where  two  would  be  enough.  A  care- 
ful examination  of  two  of  these  canals  by  the  State  Engineer  showed  that  the  water  could 
be  carried  in  one,  at  a  saving  of  twenty  per  cent. 

ITALIAN  METHOD. 

The  highest  duty  of  water  is  perhaps  developed  by  the  Italian  Method,  which  is  now 
practiced  in  parts  of  Utah.  This  is  secured  by  the  hour  rotation,  or  time  system  of 
distribution,  which  is  more  clearly  explained  by  the  following  table.  By  this  method  it 
is  estimated  that  the  capacity  of  a  canal  is  fully  doubled  over  what  it  would  be  by  the 

all-at-one-time  plan. 

'  » 


IRRIGATION. 


13. 


Hourly  Distribution  Table  for  the  Year of  the  Water  of  the Ditch,  carrying 

Cubic  Feet  per  Second,  of  which  the  Period  of  Rotation  is 

Eight  Natural  Days  or  192  Hours. 


Number. 

hH 

•8  S 

si 

1* 

te 

Commencement  of   Horary  Dis- 
tribution. 

Termination  of  Horary  Dis- 
tribution. 

£ 
§ 

*4 

^ 

Hour. 

Day. 

Hour. 

Day. 

1 
2 

3 
4 
5 

6 

7 
8 
9 
10 

A 
B 
C 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
I 
K 

4  a.m  
6  p.  in  
10  a.m  
10  a.m  
4  a.m  
6  a.  m 

April  1  
April  1 

6  p.m  
10  a  m 

April  1 

14 
16 
24 
18 
2 

25 
30 
23 
19 
21 

April  2 

April  2. 

10  a.m  
4  a.m  
6  a.m  
7  a.  m  
1  D.m  
12m  
7  a.m  
4  a.m  

April  3  

April  3  

April  4  
April  4  
April  5  
April  6  
April  7  

April  4  
April  4  

A  '1  K 

April  5  
April  6  
April  7  
AprilS  

7  a.m  
1  p.m  
12m  
7  a.m  

Total 

April  8. 

April  9  

192 

Rotation  then  commences  the  same. 

This  table  also  serves  as  an  agreement  when  signed  by  the  parties  in  interest.  The 
system  has  been  practiced  in  Italy  for  hundreds  of  years,  and  is  an  example  of  rigid 
economy  in  the  use  of  water. 

COST  OF  WATER. 

The  cost  of  the  quantity  of  water  required  to  raise  a  crop  is  an  important  consider- 
ation for  the  owner  of  the  land.  Whether  he  constructs  his  own  ditch  or  purchases  from 
a  corporation,  the  outlay  on  the  acreage  reclaimed  is  a  steady  tariff  on  his  yearly  product. 
Originally,  under  the  co-operative  plan  of  canal  construction,  where  the  owners  of  the 
lands  to  be  benefited  joined  their  labor  and  capital,  the  cost  of  the  water  to  each 
depended  mainly  upon  the  first  outlay  for  the  building  of  the  works  and  the  yearly 
expenditure  for  repairs.  But  as  the  land  continued  to  be  cultivated  and  valuable  crops 
raised,  the  price  of  water  largely  increased.  The  value  of  "water  rights"  grew  in  value, 
and  those  who  desired  to  purchase  from  the  original  owner  had  to  pay  a  round  sum  in 
advance  of  the  actual  cost. 

Where  large  waterways  have  been  constructed  by  united  capital,  the  price  of  water 
to  the  consumer  is  often  a  heavy  and  sometimes  an  arbitrary  tax,  levied  without  regard  to 
the  actual  amount  of  money  expended  for  the  completion  of  the  works,  or  an  equitable 
return  of  interest  on  the  investment.  It  is  where  instances  of  such  unjust  and  oppressive 
charges  have  been  made  by  canal  corporations  that  the  law  has  been  invoked  to  protect 
the  cultivator ;  for  it  is  held,  and  with  good  reason,  that  if  the  State  has  the  power  to  reg- 
ulate railroad  tariffs,  it  has  also  the  power  to  prevent  excessive  and  exhorbitant  charges 
for  water.  And  no  doubt  its  right  to  regulate  the  control  of  water  is  as  truly  inherent  in 
its  sovereignty  as  is  its  unquestioned  power  to  legislate  on  land.  For  in  reality,  in 
irrigated  countries  the  true  standard  of  value  is  the  water,  without  it  the  land  is  almost 
worthless. 

In  Colorado,  which  should  be  a  model  for  all,  it  has  been  estimated  that  the  cost  of 
canal  construction  is  from  $5  to  $6.25  per  acre,  of  the  area  to  be  irrigated.  In  Kansas, 
where  the  conditions  for  building  are  more  favorable,  irrigation  works  have  not  cost  more 
than  $2.50  per  acre,  of  the  land  brought  under  cultivation.  Again,  where  extra  work, 


14  IRRIGATION. 

such  as  tunneling,  fluming,  etc.,  has  to  be  met,  or  expensive  piping,  as  at  Pasadena  or 
the  Highland  Canal,  in  Los  Angeles  County,  the  course  of  construction  may  reach  from 
$40  to  $50  per  acre.  The  fact  has  been  demonstrated  that  the  greater  the  area  to  be 
served  by  water,  the  less  will  be  the  cost  per  acre  for  the  construction  of  works.  The 
150,000 'acres  at  Bakersfield  are  watered  at  the  rate  of  $2.50  per  acre.  The  "  76"  canal, 
at  Fresno,  supplies  20,000  acres  at  a  cost  of  about  $6  per  acre ;  but  if  completed  according 
to  the  original  plan — to  reclaim  180,000  acres — the  cost  per  acre  will  be  less  than  $4. 

The  price  for  "  water  rights  "  in  the  small  colonies  of  Southern  California,  is  much 
higher  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  irrigable  regions  of  Western  America.  At  Ontario, 
Pomona  and  Etiwanda,  a  "water  right"  costs  from  $75  to  $100  per  acre;  and  as  one-tenth 
of  a  miner's  inch  is  the  allowance  for  an  acre,  it  will  be  understood  IIOAV  precious  the  fluid 
is  where  the  supply  is  limited.  In  Colorado,  where  large  irrigation  enterprises  are  the 
rule,  80  acres  are  supplied  for  $20,  and  in  Utah  for  $12.50,  while  in  Kansas  a  "right" 
for  the  same  acreage  is  much  less. 

Having  secured  a  "  water  right "  the  cultivator  is  then  subject  to  a  yearly  assessment 
for  maintenance.  This  is  the  general  rule  in  all  the  States  and  Territories  of  the  arid  belt. 
This  ranges  from  $2  per  acre  in  Kansas  to  fifty  cents  in  the  smaller  California  colonies, 
In  Colorado  the  maximum  rate  is  $1.50  per  acre;  in  Utah  it  is  $1,  and  sixty  cents  in 
Fresno.  In  portions  of  California  there  has  been  much  contention  about  the  price  of 
water.  Canal  corporations  have  been  inclined  to  make  exhorbitant  charges,  but  the  law 
giving  the  Boards  of  Supervisors  power  to  fix  rates  has,  to  a  great  extent,  regulated  the 
vexed  question.  The  prices  are  now  set  with  the  view  of  allowing  water  companies  a  fair 
interest  on  their  investment.  At  Los  Angeles  water  is  sold  by  what  is  called  a  "  head," 
which  varies,  under  loose  measurement,  from  two  to  four  cubic  feet  per  second.  The  cost 
of  this  quantity  to  the  consumer  is  $2  per  day  or  $1.50  per  night  within  the  city  limits, 
and  twice  this  price  outside  the  municipality.  At  Riverside  the  cost  is  about  $3  for  a 
cubic  foot  for  twenty-four  hours.  The  prices  of  "water  rights"  vary  from  causes  other 
than  those  named,  and  a  most  important  one  is,  whether  the  owner  of  the  water  has  land 
of  his  own  to  sell  with  it.  But  one  main  cause  of  increase  in  price  is  the  value  of  the 
crops  which  the  land  produces. 


IN  COLORADO  AND  CALIFORNIA. 

At  the  formation  of  the  Greely  Colony,  Colorado,  80  acres,  with  "  water  right,"  could 
be  purchased  for  $300;  to-day,  the  same  "right"  is  worth  $1,000,  while  the  land  cannot 
be  bought  for  less  than  $3,000.  Water  in  Southern  California  has  risen  rapidly  in  value 
during  the  last  five  years,  but  as  it  is  generally  linked  to  the  land,  it  is  difficult  to  deter- 
mine the  exact  price  that  is  paid  for  it — though  in  reality  water  is  what  the  purchaser 
gives  his  money  for.  Land  in  that  region  which  in  its  wild  state  would  not  bring  $5  per 
acre,  is  considered  worth  from  $50  to  $75  when  under  a  ditch.  A  study  of  the  "  capital 
value"  of  water  in  California,  will  give  an  idea  of  its  importance.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  a  flow  of  a  cubic  foot  per  second,  for  the  irrigating  season  of  all  future  years,  is  worth 
from  $75  to  $125  in  grain  land,  and  $150  in  fruit  land.  This  is  the  price  to  apply  such 
a  stream  to  a  special  piece  of  land  as  long  as  the  irrigator  may  think  necessary — the 
knowledge  that  an  excess  will  ruin  his  crops  being  the  only  limit.  But  if  a  flow  of  a 
cubic  foot  per  second  were  bought  in  perpetuity  without  any  limit  to  the  acreage  to  which 
it  might  be  applied,  or  the  time  or  circumstances  of  applying  it,  the  capital  value  of  such 
a  stream  in  Southern  California  to-day,  would  be  $40,000,  or  $1,000  per  inch.  This  is 
the  calculation  of  Hon.  Alfred  Deakin,  of  Australia,  who  has  given  the  subject  much 
-tu«ly.  The  price  of  water  in  the  irrigated  regions  of  the  Old  World,  differ  as  widely  as  in 
the  New.  The  average  cost  of  rented  water  in  the  dry  regions  of  the  United  States  is  from 
$2.50  to  $6  per  acre,  while  in  France  it  is  $7  per  acre.  In  Italy  the  yearly  rental  of 
water  is  from  $2  to  $3  per  acre.  The  highest  figures  can  be  paid  when  the  land  is  devoted 
to  the  cultivation  of  valuable  fruits,  such  as  oranges,  limes,  olives,  raisin  grapes,  etc.,  but 
the  farmer  who  grows  cereals  must  have  cheap  water  if  he  hopes  to  realize  any  profit. 


IRRIGATION.  15 

ECONOMY  IN  ITS  USE. 

Irrigation  is  an  art  which  must  be  learned  by  experience,  and  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  local  conditions.  Its  history  in  all  lands  shows  that  where  water  is  scarce,  and  conse- 
quently dear,  the  greater  is  the  "duty"  it  performs  and  the  more  lucrative  the  return 
which  the  farmer  receives  from  the  soil.  When  the  supply  is  limited  and  the  price  high, 
the  irrigator  hoards  every  drop,  and  takes  only  what  is  absolutely  required  for  the  pro- 
duction of  a  crop ;  but  where  water  is  plentiful,  and  the  laws  regulating  its  control  and 
supply  are  vague  and  undetermined,  the  conditions  are  reversed,  and  there  is  waste  and 
extravagance.  This  is  an  important  matter  which  every  farmer  on  irrigated  lands  would 
do  well  to  study.  Careful  handling  of  water  and  economy  in  its  use  means  a  saving  in 
its  cost,  and  an  extension  of  the  irrigable  area.  When  one  half  or  one  third  of  the 
quantity  now  used  in  most  of  the  dry  regions  of  the  West  is  found  amply  sufficient  for  the 
growth  of  a  crop,  it  will  not  only  be  a  gain  to  the  farmer,  but  it  will  double  and  treble 
the  productive  area,  and  make  homes  for  thousands  on  the  now  barren  wastes.  On  this 
subject  the  State  Engineer  of  Colorado  remarks  that  many  of  the  canal  companies  in  that 
State  make  contracts  for  water  which  are  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  the  common- 
wealth, inasmuch  as  no  inducement  is  held  out  to  the  purchasers  to  use  it  with  economy. 
He  recommends  that  contracts  for  water  should  be  for  absolute  quantities,  and  then  if  the 
cultivator  can  farm  with  less,  by  skill  and  care  in  the  handling  of  the  fluid,  the  value  of 
his  surplus,  which  can  be  sold  to  those  who  need  it,  should  be  placed  to  his  credit. 

The  artificial  system  of  tillage  in  the  United  States  is  yet  in  its  crude  state,  and  our 
rough  ditches  and  brush  wingdams  are  only  a  slight  improvement  on  the  simple  water- 
wheel  of  the  Egyptian  fellah.  But  with  the  cemented  canals,  the  massive  aqueducts  and 
reservoirs  of  Spain  and  Italy,  the  duty  of  water  will  be  largely  increased,  and  its  cost 
correspondingly  diminished  in  the  arid  regions  of  the  Republic. 


THE  LAWS  OF  WATER. 


HE  "  law  of  waters  "  is  the  most  difficult  and  complicated  of  all  the  questions  relating 
to  irrigation.  The  control  and  equitable  distribution  of  an  element  so  shifting  and 
variable  has  been  the  study  of  some  of  the  ablest  statesmen  and  economists  of  the 
Old  World.  And  while  the  "land  question"  is  now  recognized  as  the  leading  social 
problem  of  the  age,  that  of  water  is  of  no  less  importance  to  a  large  number  of  the  human 
family.  Throughout  the  arid  belt  of  the  United  States  it  may  be  said  that  custom  and 
usage  mainly  govern.  Beyond  a  general  proposition  that  water  is  public  property  to  be 
used  for  the  public  benefit,  the  government  has  no  clear-cut  and  well-defined  enactments 
upon  this  important  subject.  The  exception  is  the  Act  of  Congress,  of  1866,  which  recog- 
nizes the  right  of  appropriation,  for  mining,  agriculture,  or  other  useful  purposes.  But 
the  common  law  of  England,  which  has  been  engrafted  on  the  jurisprudence  of  the  United 
States,  recognizes  and  maintains  the  doctrine  of  "  riparian  rights,"  and  it  is  the  law  of 
every  State  in  the  Union,  with  one  exception.  Divested  of  legal  verbiage,  this  doctrine 
virtually  means  that  a  riparian  owner  is  entitled  to  receive  from  the  proprietor  above 
him,  and  must  transmit  to  his  neighbor  below,  the  waters  of  the  stream  upon  which  his 
land  abuts,  undiminished  in  volume  and  unimpaired  in  quality. 


16  IRRIGATION. 


THE  RIPARIAN  LAW. 

To  put  it  more  clearly :  Suppose  a  man  owns  the  land  on  both  sides  of  a  stream,  at 
it*  mouth  ;  under  the  application  of  the  law  of  riparian  rights,  he  would  be  entitled  to 
receive  the  entire  volume  of  water  in  the  stream,  undiminished  or  unimpaired.  It  will  be 
readily  seen  that  the  recognition  and  enforcement  of  such  a  law  is  destructive  to  irriga- 
tion. It  virtually  ignores  the  right  of  appropriation  and  would  prevent  all  cultivation  by 
the  artificial  application  of  water.  Such  a  law  may  be  entirely  in  harmony  with  existing 
conditions  in  England  and  the  nations  of  Northern  Europe  where  irrigation  is  hardly 
known,  but  it  is  altogether  inapplicable  to  the  rainless  regions  of  Western  America,  to 
Southern  Europe,  and  to  a  large  portion  of  Asia,  Africa  and  Australia ;  yet,  this  is  the  law 
recognized  by  the  courts  in  every  State,  except  Colorado,  and  whose  absurd  provisions 
have  done  so  much  to  retard  the  development  of  the  irrigable  belt  and  caused  so  much 
expensive  litigation. 

In  all  lands  and  in  all  ages  since  the  establishment  of  organized  society,  the  supreme 
governing  power  has  exercised  sovereignty  over  water,  declaring  it  to  be  public  property 
for  the  uses  and  benefit  of  the  people.  This  was  the  Roman  law  which  was  introduced 
and  enforced  in  the  conquered  colonies  of  that  empire  where  irrigation  was  practiced.  The 
Roman  law  distinctly  recognized  the  right  of  "  appropriation  "  for  agricultural  purposes, 
and  among  the  Latin  nations  of  Southern  Europe  that  right  maintains  to-day. 


LAWS  OF  THE  OLD  WORLD. 

The  Spanish  "law  of  water"  is  an  elaborate  and  exhaustive  compendium.  The 
waters  of  the  kingdom  are  under  administrative  control,  and  appropriations  can  only  be 
made  after  due  examination  by  the  authorities.  The  Spanish  law  distinguishes  between 
waters  on  private  and  public  lands,  the  former  being  under  the  control  of  the  owner  of 
'the  land,  under  certain  restrictions,  and  the  latter  the  property  of  the  kingdom.  The 
water  is  held  by  the  Government  for  the  use  of  the  people ;  its  control  and  distribution  is 
regulated  by  local  and  general  laws.  No  one  is  permitted  to  appropriate  more  than  he 
actually  requires,  and  no  diversion  can  be  made  from  a  stream  unless  the  matter  is 
thoroughly  examined  by  the  water  commissioners,  and  its  effect  on  prior  appropriators 
clearly  shown.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  unlicensed  diversion  or  appropriation  of  the  public 
waters,  and  no  waste  or  extravagance  is  permitted  in  their  use.  Similar  laws  prevail  in 
France,  Italy  and  Algeria.  There  is  a  complete  and  thorough  administrative  system  in  all 
those  countries,  and  a  man  can  no  more  appropriate  and  convert  to  his  own  use  large 
quantities  of  water  than  he  can  large  bodies  of  land.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  State  over  the 
former,  and  the  laws  regulating  its  use  and  defining  its  ownership,  are  as  comprehensive  as 
those  relating  to  the  latter.  In  India,  the  entire  system  of  waterways  and  works  is  under 
control  of  the  Government,  and  the  laws  and  usages  controlling  its  appropriation  and 
distribution  are  as  perfect  as  the  experience  of  centuries  can  make  them. 

The  miner's  customs  of  the  early  days  in  California  are  the  foundation  for  almost  all 
the  legislation  on  water  which  at  present  exists  in  the  arid  regions  of  the  West.  Except  in 
the  Pueblo  settlements  of  New  Mexico,  where  the  communal  laws  of  the  Aztecs  still 
prevail,  our  ideas  of  the  appropriation  and  use  of  water  are  derived  from  the  flumes  and 
ditches  of  the  placer  miner.  In  California,  so  conflicting  are  the  decisions  of  courts  and 
legislative  enactments,  that  the  "  laws  of  water  "  in  that  State  are  in  a  very  unsettled  con- 
dition. The  State  Constitution  defines  water  as  "  public  property; "  but  the  common  law 
of  England,  so  far  as  the  same  is  not  repugnant  or  inconsistent  with  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  has  been  incorporated  in  the  Civil  Code.  This  virtually  recognizes  and 
establishes  the  riparian  doctrine,  and  has  been  so  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State.  This  decision,  in  direct  opposition  to  the  doctrine  of  "  appropriation,"  has  been 
appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  but  pending  a  final  judgment,  the 
lower  courts  are  filled  with  litigation. 


IRRIGATION*.  17 

IN  CALIFORNIA. 

There  is  hardly  a  doubt  that  the  opinion  of  the  highest  tribunal  will  be  against  the 
enforcement  of  the  riparian  law  within  the  arid  belt  of  the  West.  The  right  to  divert 
water  for  irrigating  purposes,  has  been  recognized  on  the  Pacific  Coast  for  more  than  one 
hundred  years,  under  the  laws  of  Spain  and  Mexico,  and  by  the  state  and  national  govern- 
ments. For  more  than  twenty  years  after  the  acquisition  of  California,  the  law  of  riparian 
rights  was  not  heard  of.  The  legislation  of  Congress  is  in  harmony  with  the  law  of 
appropriation ;  and  the  Supreme  Court  has  heretofore  decided  that  "  the  rights  of  miners 
who  have  taken  possession  and  worked  said  mines,  and  the  rights  of  persons  who  have 
constructed  canals  for  purposes  of  'agricultural  irrigation,'  in  the  region  where  such 
artificial  use  of  water  Avas  an  absolute  necessity,  are  rights  which  the  government  had 
recognized  and  encouraged,  and  was  bound  to  respect."  Public  opinion,  and  the  ablest 
jurists  of  the  State  are  against  the  riparian  doctrine.  Its  enforcement  wrould  be  a  virtual 
recognition  of  a  private  ownership  in  an  elemental  source  of  wealth,  and  in  direct  opposi- 
tion to  the  fundamental  law  of  the  State,  which  declares  that  "  water  is  a  public  use." 

What  is  known  as  the  "Satherwhite  law,"  passed  by  the  legislature  of  1876, 
guarantees  the  water  as  a  "  perpetual  casement "  to  the  land.  This  law  wrelds  together  the 
land  and  the  water,  and  forever  sets  at  rest  the  right  of  the  irrigator  to  his  water  supply. 
Next  is  the  "  Streeter  law "  of  1881,  which  places  the  regulation  of  water  rates  in  the 
hands  of  the  governing  powers  of  counties  and  municipal  corporations.  In  Los  Angeles, 
the  water  supply  is  under  control  of  the  city  government,  who  maintain  the  ditches,  and 
sell  the  water  to  those  who  require  it.  Beyond  this,  there  is  no  legislative  control  or 
regulation  of  the  public  waters  by  the  State  of  California.  With  the  issue  between  the 
riparian  proprietor  and  the  appropriator  still  undecided,  the  question  is  in  a  chaotic  condi- 
tion ;  and  as  the  Governor  has  pertinently  stated,  "  the  rights  to  the  use  of  water  are 
undefined  and  unproven  claims."  The  laws  of  Nevada  relating  to  water,  are  even  more 
indefinite  and  contradictory  than  those  of  California.  Following  the  precedent  set  by  the 
latter  State,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Sage-brush  commonwealth,  upholds  the  doctrine  of 
riparian  rights,  and,  as  a  result,  litigation  about  water  is  of  frequent  occurrence.  In  LTtah 
and  New  Mexico,  the  territorial  legislatures  have  no  enactments  regarding  public  waters, 
but  the  right  of  appropriation  for  agricultural  purposes  is  recognized  in  both.  In  Salt 
Lake  City,  the  water  is  under  the  control  of  the  municipality,  while  in  New  Mexico,  the 
communal  system  of  the  Pueblo  Indians,  and  the  old  Spanish  laws,  are  still  recognized. 

THE  COLORADO  LAW. 

Of  all  the  States  and  Territories  in  the  arid  region,  Colorado  is  the  only  one  that  has 
a  well  defined  and  comprehensive  code  of  laws  relating  to  irrigation.  The  riparian  doc- 
trine is  not  recognized  in  that  State,  and  the  Legislature  has  decreed  that  all  the  waters 
of  its  streams  and  lakes  belong  to  the  people,  and  are  subject  to  appropriation  for  irriga- 
tion, mining  or  other  useful  purposes.  In  1881  a  law  was  passed  providing  for  the 
"proving  up"  and  recording  of  water-right  claims,  and  for  the  administration  of  the 
waters  of  streams  and  lakes.  It  provides  that  every  claimant  by  appropriation,  shall  file 
with  the  County  Clerk  a  statement  of  the  nature,  extent  and  history  of  his  claim,  and 
further  provides  that  such  statement  shall  be  published  for  a  stated  period.  It  next  makes 
provision  for  a  judicial  inquiry  into  the  status  of  the  various  claims.  The  dates  and 
extent  of  the  appropriations,  and  the  construction  and  enlargement  of  canals,  are  required 
to  be  proved  before  a  court  referee.  The  referee  is  required  to  make  findings  of  facts 
concerning  all  the  water  claims  in  the  district  brought  to  his  notice,  and  report  them,  with 
the  evidence,  to  the  court  having  jurisdiction.  The  court  then  gives  all  parties  a  hearing, 
and  is  authorized  to  enter  decrees  declaring  the  extent  and  priority  of  each  claim ;  and 
such  decrees  form  the  basis  for  the  future  •  distribution  of  the  wafers  of  the  streams  to 
the  canals. 

The  State  is  divided  into  water  districts,  with  a  water  commissioner  in  each,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  regulate  the  distribution  of  the  waters,  decide  disputes  between  appropriators 


18  IRRIGATION. 

subject  to  appeal  to  the  courts,  and  exercise  general  supervision  over  the  natural  and  arti- 
ficial waterways  of  his  district.  In  times  of  scarcity  he  divides  the  waters  among  the 
several  canals  according  to  the  prior  rights  of  each.  The  State  Engineer  has  entire 
supervision  of  the  public  waters  of  the  State.  He  is  required  to  make  accurate  measure- 
ments of  the  volume  of  water  in  the  streams  of  each  district.  This  measurement  will 
show  the  commissioners  the  quantity  available  at  any  time  for  irrigation  purposes.  By 
the  system  of  correct  measurement  the  irrigator  is  assured  that  when  he  purchases  a  water 
right  from  a  canal  company  he  will  get  the  value  of  his  money,  as  corporations  are  not 
allowed,  as  in  other  irrigating  countries,  to  sell  more  than  they  are  entitled  to  receive  from 
the  stream.  The  State  furnishes  the  expert  service  to  keep  measurement  of  the  waters  in 
the  streams  and  gauge  the  canals  and  head-gates,  upon  which  data  and  the  decrees  and  the 
renewed  or  extended  claims  made  from  time  to  time,  the  water  commissioners  act  in  their 
distribution  work. 

This  is  an  outline  of  the  law  now  in  force  in  twenty-four  water  districts  of  the  State, 
and  which  is  giving  general  satisfaction.  It  is  a  strict  account-keeping  of  the  waters 
available  for  diversion,  in  which  the  State  regulates  the  distribution  according  to  the 
decreed  rights  of  each  appropriator.  Since  the  law  went  into  effect,  there  has  been  an 
almost  entire  absence  of  litigation ;  and  with  such  a  system  based  upon  equity  and  com- 
mon sense,  the  agricultural  area  of  the  State  is  being  steadily  enlarged. 

The  foregoing  brief  outline  will  show  how  loose,  vague  and  undetermined  are  the  laws 
relating  to  water  in  the  arid  regions  of  the  United  States.  It  also  shows  the  imperative 
necessity  for  more  perfect  legislation  on  this,  the  most  vital  of  questions  to  the  people  of 
the  great  interior  basin.  Outside  of  Colorado,  no  State  or  Territory  within  this  vast 
domain  has  made  an  effort  to  grapple  with  this  important  problem.  The  necessity  for 
legislative  supervision,  and  for  a  clear  and  comprehensive  system  of  legal  supervision,  is 
apparent  to  all.  Vast  interests  are  at  stake  which  are  increasing  year  by  year.  The 
growth  and  future  prosperity  of  an  inland  empire  depends,  mainly,  upon  wise  and  equit- 
able laws  controlling  and  regulating  its  water  supply.  From  an  agricultural  point  of 
view,  the  wealth  of  the  rainless  region  is  in  its  streams  and  lakes ;  and  the  proper  appli- 
cation of  their  waters  to  the  thirsty  soil,  is  a  question  of  existence  for  millions  yet  to 
come.  The  control  of  this  precious  element  is  rapidly  passing  into  the  hands  of  specula- 
tot's,  while  the  governing  power  makes  no  effort  to  prevent  the  abuse  and  monopoly  which 
is  every  day  growing  greater.  If  the  land  is  the  birthright  of  the  people,  how  much 
more  so  is  the  water  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  dry  belt — their  very  existence  depends 
upon  it. 

The  Governor  of  the  State  of  California  has  called  attention  to  the  unsettled  con- 
dition of  the  water  question  in  that  commonwealth.  He  has  pointed  out  the  magnitude 
of  the  interests  involved,  the  vested  rights  that  have  accrued,  and  the  necessity  for  legislative 
enactments  that  will  set  at  rest  the  disputes  and  litigation  about  water  rights.  The  last 
session  of  the  legislature  was  devoted  mainly  to  this  question,  and  a  law  modeled  after 
that  of  Colorado,  was  presented  but  failed  to  pass.  The  advocates  of  the  riparian  doctrine 
strongly  opposed  the  measure,  and  set  their  faces  against  any  compromise  with  those  who 
favored  "appropriation."  But  if  California  expects  to  prosper,  she  must,  once  for  all, 
abandon  the  riparian  idea.  Its  enforcement  would  virtually  paralyze  every  industry  in 
two-thirds  of  the  State,  and  would  be  a  death  blow  to  its  growth  and  advancement, 


PROPOSED  CALIFORNIA  LAW. 

The  necessity  for  State  control  was  ably  set  forth  by  Mr.  'Hall,  State  Engineer,  at  the 
convention  of  irrigators  held  at  Riverside,  in  May,  1884.  There  is  no  man  on  the  Coast 
who  has  given  to  the  subject  more  careful  study,  or  whose  opinions  are  entitled  to  more 
weight.  In  his  address  before  that  gathering,  Mr.  Hall  declared  that  in  countries  where 
irrigation  was  long  practiced,  it  was  shown  that  it  must  be  carried  on  in  conformity  with 
a  well-defined  administrative  system,  if  the  larger  percentage  of  possible  results  are  to  be 
obtained.  Thus  far,  the  policy  of  California  has  been  to  leave  the  distribution  of  the 


IRRIGATION.  19 

public  waters  to  the  claimants  thereof,  and  the  settlement  of  disputes  to  the  courts.  With 
equal  propriety,  the  general  government  might  throw  open  the  public  domain  to  appropria- 
tion, do  away  with  land  offices,  and  require  no  proof  of  claims  except  when  disputed  in 
court  by  some  rival  claimant.  Of  course,  under  such  a  system  (?)  there  would  be  no 
undisturbed  titles  in  land.  And  yet  this  is  the  policy,  not  only  of  California  but  of  nearly 
all  the  irrigating  States  and  Territories  in  the  Union.  The  fundamental  principles  of  irriga- 
tion never  have  been,  and  never  can  be  solved  by  the  policy  of  non-intervention. 

Mr.  Hall  proposed  as  a  solution  of  the  irrigation  problem  in  California,  that  the 
State  shall  assume  control  over  the  waters,  and  direct  and  supervise  their  division  from 
the  streams : 

That  all  existing  water  privileges  should  be  defined  and  recorded : 

That  a  definite  standard  of  measurement  for  water  should  be  established : 

That  water  rights  should  be  issued  in  proportion  to  the  supply  in  each  stream,  and 
that  the  extent  and  priority  of  each  claim  should  be  designated : 

That  provision  should  be  made  for  supervising  the  distribution  of  water  from  the 
streams  or  sources  of  supply,  to  those  holding  water  rights : 

That  provision  should  be  made  for  the  care  of  the  beds,  the  banks,  and  the  waters  of 
the  streams  : 

That  the  adjustment  of  the  conflicting  interests  of  the  irrigator  and  the  riparian 
claimant  should  be  provided  for  as  they  arise : 

That  general  regulations  should  be  established  from  time  to  time,  which  will  prevent 
waste,  and  guard  against  water  monopolies  and  the  careless  use  of  the  fluid. 

This  plan  contemplates  State  regulation  of  the  sources  of  supply,  and  of  the  waters 
allotted  to  each  claimant.  It  also  provides  for  private  regulation,  under  State  laws,  of  the 
details  of  distribution  from  the  canals  to  the  irrigator ;  and  State  regulation  of  the  use  of 
water,  to  the  end  that  none  may  be  wasted.  The  State  is  likewise  given  power  to  adjust 
conflicting  rights  by  arbitration,  when  possible,  or  by  condemnation,  when  necessary  or 
possible. 

Mr.  Hall  urged  that  this  plan  would  not  be  an  attack  on  any  interest,  but  would 
bring  protection  to  all.  The  appropriators  would  have  their  rights  definitely  defined,  and 
would  have  to  prove  their  claims  according  to  accurate  measurements  and  reliable 
evidence.  When  the  facts  of  all  claims  were  made  of  record,  there  would  be  a  relief  from 
future  litigation,  and  there  would  be  no  obstacle  to  the  acquirement  of  future  rights, 
under  well-defined  and  equitable  regulations.  The  facts  concerning  water  rights  should 
be  as  easily  ascertained  as  the  history  of  land  titles,  yet  in  Southern  California  to-day, 
they  are  uncertain  and  undetermined,  and  are  left  for  adjustment  by  piece-meal  as 
individual  cases  come  up,  which  adjustments  are  merely  make-shifts  for  the  time  being. 


WATER   MONOPOLIES. 

The  matter  of  the  corporate  control  of  water  was  fully  discussed  by  the  Riverside 
Convention.  The  necessity  for  organized  capital  in  the  construction  of  large  irrigating 
works  was  admitted,  and  the  great  benefits  it  conferred  was  acknowledged.  But  the  im- 
portance of  State  supervision  of  such'  enterprises,  was  clearly  pointed  out.  Railroad,  gas 
and  telegraph  companies,  were  all  subject  to  legitimate  competition,  but  in  supplying 
water  Nature  has,  in  most  instances,  prevented  competition  by  rival  corporations,  by  limit- 
ing the  supply.  This  was  urged  as  an  unanswerable  argument  in  favor  of  State  control ; 
for  a  monopoly  of  water  in  regions  where  the  article  was  scarce,  would  place  the  property 
of  the  people  in  the  hands  of  a  corporation,  subject  to  its  arbitrary  action.  Water,  being 
a  "  public  use,"  no  company  or  corporation  had  a  right  to  any  property  in  it ;  they  were 
entitled  to  a  remuneration  for  conveying  it  upon  the  land  and  distributing  it,  no  more. 
The  Convention  believed  that  the  enforcement  of  the  law  giving  the  boards  of  supervisors 
the  power  to  fix  rates,  should  be  just  alike  to  the  corporation  and  the  irrigator — aiming  to 
give  the  former  fair  interest  on  the  investment,  but  preventing  it  from  overcharging  or 
changing  established  rates. 


20  IRRIGATION. 

But  while  the  meeting  at  Riverside  was  strongly  in  favor  of  equitable  laws  for  the 
control  of  "the  chartered  collectors  of  water  taxes,"  it  was  equally  strong  in  its  condem- 
nation of  the  extravagant  and  criminal  waste  by  claimants  to  water  rights  who,  under  the 
assumption  of  priority  of  appropriation,  wilfully  wasted  water  while  the  crops  of  their 
neighbors  were  suffering  for  its  use.  As  one  member  pertinently  remarked,  "if  a  corpora- 
tion is  to  come  under  the  ban  of  the  law  for  bringing  water  upon  land  and  distributing  it, 
why  are  other  appropriators  permitted  to  uselessly  squander  it?"  It  was  admitted  that  if  the 
State  had  the  right  to  exercise  control  over  private  enterprises  dealing  with  an  elemental 
property  and  a  natural  source  of  wealth,  it  had  also  the  right  to  prevent  its  criminal 
waste.  It  is  a  well-settled  law  in  the  old  irrigating  countries  that  land  and  water  should 
be  "  married,"  and  that  land  titles  should  include  water  also.  The  California  irrigators 
endorsed  this  doctrine,  and  resolved  that  both  should  be  "  wedded,  sold  and  held  together," 
and,  that  after  once  being  united,  they  should  never  be  separated. 

The  Convention  condemned  the  riparian  doctrine  as  detrimental  to  the  best  interests 
of  the  State ;  declared  there  could  be  no  more  property  in  water  than  in  air,  and  that  no 
one  should  have  a  monopoly  of  that  which  was  owned  by  all,  and  unanimously  recom- 
mended the  passage  of  a  law  similar  to  that  of  Colorado. 


VIEWS  OF  MR.  DEAKIN. 

In  closing  this  paper  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  present  the  views  of  Hon.  Alfred  Deakin, 
of  Australia,  on  this  question.  Mr.  Deakin  was  commissioned  by  the  Government  of  the 
Victoria  colony  to  make  a  thorough  examination  of  the  system  of  irrigation  practiced  in 
Western  America.  After  digesting  the  facts  which  came  under  his  observation,  he 
submitted  the  following  outline  for  an  irrigation  law  in  Victoria  : 

"  The  State  should  exercise  supreme  control  over  rivers,  lakes,  and  streams. 

"  It  should  dispose  of  water  to  those  who  may  require  it  for  irrigation,  on  such  terms 
and  conditions  as  may  be  determined  by  regularly  qualified  officers.  - 

."  It  should  establish  a  definite  scale  of  water  measurement  in  all  transactions  relating 
to  its  use. 

"  The  State  should  appoint  local  water  masters  to  supervise  its  distribution,  settle 
disputes,  and  exercise  such  jurisdiction,  under  a  central  office,  as  shall  guarantee  preserva- 
tion of  water-courses,  and  other  sources  of  supply." 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  concurrent  opinion  of  those  who  have  made  the  irriga- 
tion question  a  study  is  in  favor  of  State  control  and  supervision.  In  no  other  way  can 
the  best  results  be  obtained,  and  by  no  other  method  can  security  and  protection  be 
assured  alike  to  private  rights  and  public  enterprises. 


METHOD  OF  IRRIGATION. 


HE  method  of  conveying  water  to  trees,  plants,  and  cereals  is  an  art  to  be  learned 
only  by  experience.  A  thorough  knowledge  of  conducting  the  life-giving  fluid  over 
the  land  means  a  saving  in  its  use,  better  cultivation,  and  an  increased  production. 
The  system  varies  with  the  diverse  conditions  of  different  countries,  from  the  primitive 
water-wheel  of  the  Egyptian  peasant  to  the  sub-irrigation  pipes  of  Southern  California. 
The  earliest,  the  simplest,  and  the  cheapest  method  is  by  "  flooding."  By  this  plan  the 


IRRIGATION.  21 

water  is  made  to  cover  the  whole  area  under  tillage,  to  the  required  depth.  From  the 
main  canal  the  cultivator  conveys  the  water  to  his  land  by  lateral  ditches.  Very  often  a 
number  of  farmers  whose  holdings  lie  contiguous,  unite  in  constructing  the  main  "  lateral." 
From  this  each  opens  sub-laterals  or  field  ditches,  which  carry  the  water  to  all  parts  of 
the  farm. 

FLOODING. 

The  plan  of  "flooding"  is  the  most  wasteful  manner  of  applying  water  to  the  soil, 
but  it  cannot  be  avoided  in  the  cultivation  of  cereals.  With  a  regular  slope  the  work  is 
trifling,  but  in  most  countries  some  outlay  is  required  for  levelling  surface  inequalities, 
and  providing  for  the  equal  distribution  of  the  stream  from  points  of  vantage.  When  the 
fall  is  slight,  shallow  ditches  are  run  from-  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  apart  in  the  direction 
of  the  slope ;  when  the  land  is  steeper  they  are  carried  diagonally  to  the  slope  or  made  to 
wind  around  it,  and  from  these,  by  throwing  up  little  dams  from  point  to  point,  the  whole 
field  is  flooded.  These  ridges  or  dams  must  have  rounded  crests  and  easy  slopes,  so  as  not 
to  interfere  with  the  use  of  farming  machinery.  By  means  of  diagonal  furrows  and  dams 
it  is  claimed  that  one  man  can  irrigate  twenty-five  acres  in  a  day.  This  is  the  plan  which 
prevails  in  Colorado  for  the  raising  of  grain. 

In  the  valleys  of  Southern  Arizona  the  labor  and  cost  of  applying  water  to  the  soil  is, 
perhaps,  less  than  in  any  other  region  of  the  irrigated  area  of  Western  America.  The  land 
is  almost  as  level  as  a  floor,  with  a  gradual  slope  from  the  foothills  to  the  streams.  The 
farms  are  checked  off  into  plats  by  shallow  furrows,  into  which  the  water  from  the  sub- 
laterals  finds  its  way  and  is  quickly  conveyed  to  every  part  of  the  field.  The  process  is 
so  simple  that  an  inexperienced  hand  finds  no  difficulty  in  soon  mastering  the  details.  It 
may  be  said  that  in  "  flooding  "  the  aim  should  be  to  put  no  more  water  on  the  land  than 
it  will  at  once  and  equally  absorb,  or  can  part  with  without  creating  a  current  that  will 
carry  off  sediment.  Where  there  is  a  heavy  fall  and  the  water  has  been  allowed  to  flow 
too  freely,  the  result  has  been  the  washing  away  of  all  the  fertilizing  elements. 

BY  FURROAVS. 

Irrigation  by  means  of  furrows  lias  been  found  the  most  successful  for  vines  and  fruit 
trees,  as  also  for  nearly  all  vegetables.  These  furrows  are  generally  run  from  four  to  ten 
feet  apart,  and  when  the  water  flows  through  them  it  soaks  quickly  to  the  roots,  whereas 
by  the  flooding  system  the  soil  is  apt  to  bake  if  not  protected  from  the  sun.  When 
unrestricted  flooding  is  practiced  in  orchards,  it  is  found  to  bring  the  roots  to  the  surface, 
enfeeble  the  trees  and  give  to  the  fruit  an  insipid  taste.  Sometimes  a  small  hole  is  opened 
in  the  furrow  at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  into  which  the  water  slowTly  soaks.  A  better  way  is 
to  surround  the  tree  or  shrub  by  small  ridges  some  three  feet  from  where  the  water  flows. 
To  obtain  the  best  results  the  trees  should  be  carefully  looked  after,  and  supplied  with  just 
enough  water  to  keep  them  in  a  vigorous  condition.  •  It  is  also  of  the  first  importance  that 
the  soil  be  kept  loosened.  By  doing  this  the  water  is  more  readily  absorbed  and  there  is 
less  lost  by  evaporation. 

SUB-IRRIGATION. 

Irrigation  beneath  the  surface  is  considered  the  most  perfect  method  of  supplying 
water  to  vegetable  life.  The  manner  in  which  this  is  done  in  California  is  thus  described 
by  the  State  Engineer  of  that  commonwealth :  "  Pipes,  made  of  a  combination  of  Portland 
cement,  lime,  sand,  and  gravel,  with  a  small  admixture  of  potash  and  linseed  oil,  are  laid 
at  a  depth  of  one  and  a  half  or  two  feet  below  the  surface,  paralleled  to  the  rows  of  trees 
or  vines.  On  the  upper  side  of  these  pipes  is  inserted  a  wooden  plug,  with  a  tapering- 
hole  in  the  center  about  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  through  which  the  water 
percolates.  Each  plug  is  surrounded  by  a  stand-pipe  setting  on  top  of  the  distribution 
pipe,  open  at  the  bottom  and  reaching  to  the  surface.  This,  pipe  keeps  the  earth  away 


22  IRRIGATION. 

from  the  outlet  and  leaves  it  at  all  times  accessible  for  inspection.  The  distribution 
pipes  are  connected  with  mains  leading  from  a  reservoir,  and  the  labor  of  irrigation 
merely  consists  in  turning  on  the  water  and  shutting  it  off.  The  water  finds  its  way 
through  all  the  outlets  and  slowly  reaches  the  roots.  None  is  carried  on  the  surface, 
consequently  the  ground  does  not  bake,  but  is  kept  moist  and  mellow.  In  the  orchard  of 
the  inventor  of  this  system,  three  acres  of  fruit  were  irrigated  within  half  an  hour. 
Water  applied  twice  a  month  is  sufficient  to  maintain  a  strong  and  healthy  growth; 
and  the  trees  attain  twice  the  size  of  others  of  the  same  age  and  in  the  same  soil,  irrigated 
from  the  surface.  By  this  system  it  is  estimated  that  a  cubic  foot  of  water  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  supply  from  7,000  to  9,000  acres.  Three  men  can  lay  1,600  feet  of  pipe  per 
day — the  cost  of  the  work  completed,  being  from  $30  to  $50  per  acre."  Where  water 
is  scarce  and  high  priced  fruits  are  cultivated,  this  method  is  fast  superseding  the  old 
surface  system. 

BY  PUMPING. 

Irrigation  of  vineyards  and  orchards  by  lifting  water  from  various  depths,  has  long 
been  practiced  in  California.  The  motive  power,  in  many  cases,  is  supplied  by  windmills. 
These  cover  but  a  limited  area,  but  several  orchardists  have  adopted  steam  power  which 
pump  water  for  extensive  tracts.  A  leading  fruit-grower  of  the  southern  part  of  the 
State,  who  depends  entirely  upon  this  method  for  the  raising  of  a  crop,  furnishes  the 
following  data :  "  With  a  six-inch  pump,  driven  by  a  twenty  horse-power  engine,  I  have 
raised  1,800  gallons  per  minute.  The  price  of  such  a  pump,  including  engine,  boiler  and 
all  steam  fittings,  is  $1,400.  To  cover  an  acre  of  land  one  inch  deep  with  water,  requires, 
in  round  numbers,  23,000  gallons.  One  miner's  inch  being  nine  gallons  nearly,  it  would 
require  to  cover  21  acres  one  inch  deep,  2,555  inches,  or  480,000  gallons.  A  No.  4 
turbine  pump  will  raise  in  a  day's  run  of  ten  hours,  480,000  gallons.  This  would  be  at  the 
rate  of  800  gallons  or  80  miner's  inches  per  minute.  The  total  cost  of  running  such  a 
pump,  including  fuel  and  wages,  will  not  be  over  $5  for  each  .working  day  of  ten  hours, 
which  would  make  the  cost  of  placing  the  480,000  gallons  on  the  land,  about  one  cent 
per  1,000  gallons.  This  from  a  depth  of  25  feet.  To  raise  the  same  quantity  of  water 
from  a  depth  of  80  feet  would  cost  about  $7,  or  1^  cents  per  1,000  gallons."  This  system 
of  lifting  water  for  irrigating  purposes,  is  meeting  with  great  favor  in  many  quarters 
where  there  is  a  scarcity  of  the  fluid,  or  -where  canal  corporations  charge  exhorbitant  rates. 

Irrigation  from  artesian  wells  is  practiced  extensively  in  Southern  California.  The 
number  in  Los  Angeles  County  is  estimated  at  500.  The  flow  from  most  of  them  is 
variable;  and  while  some  will  supply  100  acres,  from  40  to  50  is  the  general  average. 
It  is  claimed  that  over  18,000  acres  are  cultivated  by  this  method  in  that  county. 


IRRIGATION  AS  A  FERTILIZER. 

The  fertilization  of  the  land  by  irrigation  varies  according  to  the  nature  and  quantity 
of  the  silty  matter  which  the  water  brings  upon  it.  The  estimate  of  this  gain  by  culti- 
vators is  from  30  to  100  per  cent.  There  seems  to  be  no  products  of  which  the  yield  may 
not  be  increased  by  irrigation,  as  there  are  none  that  will  not  be  diminished  by  excessive 
saturation.  The  latter  acts  upon  the  crop  exactly  as  would  too  much  rain.  Careful 
irrigation  brings  to  the  farm,  vineyard,  or  orchard,  a  steady  fertilization  which  renders 
any  further  enrichment  of  the  soil  unnecessary. 

The  mistake  with  all  beginners  is  the  using  of  too  much  water.  The  irrigator  must 
see  that  his  work  is  done  carefully  and  thoroughly ;  looking  after  every  stream,  wetting 
every  inch  of  the  soil,  and  copying,  as  nearly  as  possible,  after  nature. 


IRRIGATION.  23 


IRRIGATION  IN  ARIZONA. 


rTT  RIZONA  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  irrigated  countries.  When  the  Spaniards  explored 
TgJ  the  regions  now  embraced  within  this  Territory  and  New  Mexico,  they  found  this 
/  A  system  of  agriculture  practiced  by  the  Pueblo  and  other  semi-civilized  Indian  tribes. 
But  the  traces  of  irrigating  canals  in  the  valleys  of  the  principal  streams,  would  show  that 
this  method  of  cultivation  was  carried  on  here  centuries  before  Europeans  .set  foot  on  the 
Western  Hemisphere. 

The  Pimas  are  the  earliest  irrigators  in  the  Territory  of  whom  we  have  any  authentic 
account.  When  Coronado  led  his  expedition  through  Arizona,  in  1540,  these  people  were 
found  farming  the  lands  of  the  Gila  Valley  by  the  aid  of  primitive  irrigating  ditches,  just 
as  they  do  to-day.  The  communal  system  of  land  and  water  prevailed  amongst  them  as 
it  does  now ;  and  the  centuries  which  have  since  come  and  gone  have  brought  no  changes 
to  the  Pima  nation.  They  still  till  the  soil  and  gather  the  harvests  as  their  forefathers 
did,  and  as  their  descendants  will,  no  doubt,  continue  to  do,  until  the  last  of  the  race  shall 
have  been  gathered  to  the  happy  hunting  grounds. 

The  Mission  Fathers  were  the  first  to  introduce  a  more  perfect  system  of  irrigation 
in  the  region  now  known  as  Arizona.  The  neophytes  who  gathered  around  their  religious 
establishments  in  the  valley  of  the  Santa  Cruz,  were  instructed  by  the  pious  padres  in  the 
arts  of  tillage,  and  taught  to  build  ditches  and  raise  crops  on  the  rich  bottom  lands  of  that 
stream.  For  years  the  settlements1  on  the  Santa  Cruz  represented  the  extent  of  agricul 
tural  effort  in  Arizona ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  Americans  established  themselves  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Salt  and  Gila  Rivers  that  this  method  of  farming  was  practiced  to  any 
extent  in  the  Territory.  Since  that  time,  now  nearly  eighteen  years  ago,  the  irrigable 
area  has  steadily  enlarged,  and  within  the  past  year  several  important  canal  enterprises 
have  been  inaugurated. 

The  agricultural  resources  of  the  country,  so  long  neglected,  are  attracting  the  atten- 
tion of  people  abroad,  and  the  question  of  water  supply  is  of  the  first  importance  to  the 
new-comer.  And,  in  passing,  it  may  be  remarked  that  our  knowledge  of  this  matter,  is 
most  vague,  indefinite,  and  altogether  unreliable.  It  is  nearly  impossible  to  secure  data 
in  which  any  reliance  can  be  placed.  Men  who  for  years  have  practiced  irrigation  in  this 
Territory  seem  to  be  incapable  of  giving  intelligent  answers  to  any  question  relating  to 
the  business.  They  know  they  have  plenty  of  water  and  the  privilege  of  using  it  when 
they  please,  but  beyond  this  they  have  not  cared  to  enquire.  As  a  consequence,  the  facts 
relating  to  the  irrigation  problem  in  Arizona  are  difficult  to  obtain.  The  information 
presented  falls  far  short  of  what  the  writer  sought ;  but  repeated  enquiries  to  farming 
settlements,  in  different  parts  of  the  Territory,  have  failed  to  elicit  a  response. 


CAPACITY  AND  COST  OF  CANALS. 

The  Salt  River  Valley  has  the  largest  and  most  costly  irrigating  works  which  Arizona 
can  show.     The  names  of  the  leading  waterways,  and  the  length  of  each  is  as  follows : 


Arizona  Canal 

Grand  Canal 

Maricopa  Canal 

Salt  River  Valley  Canal. . 


40  miles. 


22 
14 

18 
San  Francisco  Canal 

Tenipe  Canal,  length  (estimated) 18 

Mesa  Canal 0 

Utah  Canal li 

Farmer's  Canal 5 


Total  Length  of  Canals 151  miles. 


24 


IRRIGATION. 


There  are  a  number  of  smaller  ditches  scattered  over  the  valley  not  included  in  the 
above,  which  may  increase  the  total  length  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles. 

The  cost  of 'these  canals  is  hard  to  determine.  Aside  from  the  first  outlay  for  con- 
struction, there  is  to  be  considered  the  yearly  repairs  for  breakage  of  dams,  enlargement 
of  ditch,  etc.  The  figures  on  some  canals  could  not  be  obtained. 


Arizona  Canal  (estimated)  cost.. 

Grand  Canal 

Maricopa  Canal 

Salt  River  Valley  Canal. . 

San  Francisco  Canal 

Tempe  Canal  (estimated). . 
Mesa  Canal  (estimated) .  . 
Utah  Canal  (estimated).. 
Farmer's  Canal  (estimated) 


Total. 


.8400,000 

.  40,000 

.  25,000 

.  40,000 

.  20,000 

.  50,000 

.  40,000 

.  15,000 

.  6,000 

.,$636,000 


It  is  quite  likely  that  these  figures  are  much  too  low,  and  that  the  actual  cost  of  the 
irrigating  ditches  in  the  valley  will  not  fall  short  of  $800,000.  The  carrying  capacity  of 
the  several  canals,  as  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained,  is  as  follows : 

Arizona  Canal 40,000  inches. 

Grand         "     : 10,000 

Salt  River  and  Maricopa  Canals 6,000 

San  Francisco  Canal '.  4,000 

Tempe  "     6,000 

Mesa  " 4,000 

Utah  "     2,000 

Farmer's  "  500 


Total 72,500  inches. 

Of  this  volume  of  water  little  more  than  25,000  inches  is  now  being  carried  upon 
the  land  and  utilized.  The  area  reclaimed  in  the  valley  by  the  various  canals  now  con- 
structed, is  not  easily  ascertained,  but  the  following  approximate  estimate  will  not  vary 
materially,  from  the  actual  figures : 


Grand         '  '                                                                                        20  000 

Maricopa  "         -  -                                                            12  000 

Salt  River  Valley  Ca 
San  Francisco 
Tempe 
Mesa 
Utah 
Farmer's 

nal                                                              15  000 

....                     6  000 

15,000 

10  000 

4000 

1.000 

Total 168,000  acres. 

This  is  something  like  the  area  enclosed,  and  which  could  be  watered  by  the  present 
canals.  It  may  be  that  some  of  these  ditches  have  not  a  carrying  capacity  at  present, 
sufficient  to  irrigate  the  acreage  they  enclose,  but  all  the  land  which  naturally  lies  under 
them,  will,  no  doubt,  yet  be  reclaimed  by  their  waters.  Of  this  large  acreage,  it  is  believed 
that  not  over  40,000  or  less  than  one-fourth  of  the  whole,  is  under  cultivation.  Of  the 
400,000  acres  of  surveyed  land  in  the  Salt  River  Valley,  it  is  believed  that  250,000  are 
susceptible  of  irrigation.  When  people  learn  to  use  water  with  that  care  and  economy 
that  is  practiced  in  countries  where  scarcity  makes  it  precious,  there  is  hardly  a  doubt 
that  this  immense  tract  will  be  made  productive.  At  present,  but  little  more  than  three- 
fifths  of  it  is  enclosed  by  canals,  and  less  than  one-sixth  is  under  cultivation. 

The  Pueblo  Virjo  Valley,  on  the  upper  Gila,  is  one  of  the  richest  tracts  of  agricult- 
ural land  in  the  Territory.  The  following  ditches  have  been  constructed  in  that  valley: 

San  Jose ;  seven  miles  long ;  reclaims  2,000  acres ;  cost  $5,000. 

Montezuma;  thirteen  miles  long;  reclaims  5,000  acres;  cost  $8,000. 

Sunflower;  three  miles  long;  reclaims  500  acres;  cost  $2,500. 

Central;  eight  miles  long;  reclaims  5,000  acres;  cost  $7,000. 


IRRIGATION.  25 

Smithville ;  five  miles  long ;  reclaims  3,000  acres ;  cost  $4,000. 

Nevada;  three  miles  long;  reclaims  500  acres. 

McMurrin ;  four  miles  long ;  reclaims  600  acres. 

These  ditches  are  on  the  south  side  of  the  Gila.  On  the  north  side  of  the  river  there 
are  six,  aggregating  twenty-three  miles  in  length  and  reclaiming  about  3,000  acres.  Their 
total  cost  was  near  $12,000. 

This  shows  the  total  length  of  irrigating  ditches  in  the  Pueblo  Viejo  to  be  sixty-six 
miles. 

Cost  of  Same $43,000 

Land  Reclaimed 19,600  acres 

Of  this  area,  not  more  than  12,000  acres  are  now  under  cultivation.  The  capacity  of 
the  several  canals  was  not  given.  The  total  acreage  of  arrable  land  in  the  valley  is 
nearly  40,000;  so  that  less  than  half  of  it  is  enclosed. 

The  largest  body  of  arrable  land  in  Yavapai  County  is  found  in  the  Verde  Valley. 
There  are,  besides,  a  number  of  small  valleys  in  different  parts  of  the  county,  where  irriga- 
tion is  practiced,  but  the  area  under  cultivation  is  small,  owing  to  the  limited  \vater  supply. 
Hon.  John  Davis,  an  old  resident  of  the  Verde,  sends  the  following  figures  about  irrigation 
in  that  locality: 

Nine  canals  have  been  constructed,  aggregating  about  30  miles  in  length,  and  costing 
about  $20,000.  These  canals  supply  water  to  2,000  acres — their  united  capacity  being 
about  1,500  miner's  inches. 

No  data  in  regard  to  the  condition  of  irrigation  in  Final,  Apache,  Pima,  or  Yuma 
Counties,  has  been  received.  There  are  a  number  of  canals  in  the  valley  of  the  Gila, 
near  Florence,  and  fully  10,000  acres  are  under  cultivation  in  that  neighborhood.  On 
the  Little  Colorado  and  its  tributaries,  in  Apache  County,  it  is  estimated  there  are  close 
on  to  18,000  acres  reclaimed,  most  of  which  is  under  cultivation.  In  Pima  County  there 
is  said  to  be  4,000  acres  under  the  plow,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  San  Pedro,  Cochise 
County,  about  the  same  number.  In  Yuma  County  there  is  said  to  be  2,000  acres  culti- 
vated. Estimating  the  cost  per  acre  for  reclamation  in  those  counties  at  $4,  which  is  a 
low  figure,  the  outlay  for  canals  in  each  would  be  as  follows :  Final,  $40,000  ;  Apache, 
$72,000;  Pima,  $16,000;  Cochise,  $16,000;  Yuma,  $8,000.  This  would  make  the  total 
cost  of  the  irrigating  works  already  constructed  in  Arizona,  over  $1,000,000.  The  total 
length  of  all  these  waterways  cannot  be  much  less  than  400  miles. 


"DUTY"  OF  WATER, 

The  "  duty"  of  water  in  Arizona  may  be  considered  an  unknown  quantity.  There  is 
but  little  data  relating  to  the  question  worthy  of  any  consideration.  The  loose  and  unre- 
liable system  of  measurements  which  prevail,  make  any  definite  calculation  almost  im- 
possible. The  practice,  which  very  generally  exists,  of  taking  water  at  pleasure  in  such 
quantities  as  may  be  desired,  makes  the  irrigator  altogether  indifferent  to  the  matter  of 
measuring  it.  While  all  the  larger  canals  employ  a  zanjero,  whose  duty  it  is  to  make  an 
equitable  distribution  according  to  the  "  rights "  of  each  cultivator,  yet,  so  loosely  is  the 
business  conducted,  that  very  often  one  man  receives  much  more  than  he  is  entitled  to, 
while  another  receives  much  less.  Throughout  the  irrigated  valleys  of  the  Territory, 
water  is  measured  by  the  miner's  inch,  generally  with  a  four-inch  pressure.  It  has  been 
shown  how  inaccurate  is  this  standard,  and  how  variable  are  the  results  from  it. 

Taking  the  Salt  River  Valley  as  an  example  of  the  system  of  artificial  cultivation  which 
prevails  in  the  Territory,  we  find  that  all  the  principal  canals  are  owned  and  managed  by 
incorporated  companies.  With  the  exception  of  the  Arizona  Canal,  all  those  ditches  were 
constructed  by  the  co-operative  efforts  of  the  owners  of  the  land  which  has  been  reclaimed 
by  their  \vaters.  Some  furnished  teams  and  tools,  others  gave  their  labor,  while  a  few 
contributed  a  money  consideration.  Stock  was  issued  to  each  according  to  the  amount  of 
money  or  labor  he  gave  to  the  construction.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  system  of  "  water 
rights"  which  prevails  throughout  the  Territory.  The  first  cost  of  each  "right,"  or  share, 


26  IRRIGATION. 

was  the  amount  af  money  or  value  of  labor  which  the  owner  contributed  to  the  building 
of  the  works,  but  there  has  been  a  rapid  increase  in  value.  In  all  of  these  canals,  each 
share  of  stock  represents  a  quantity  of  water  supposed  to  be  sufficient  for  the  irrigation  of 
a  quarter  section  of  laud.  This  "  right "  is  generally  80  miner's  inches.  The  owner  of  a 
share  of  stock  has  the  privilege  of  drawing  from  the  canal,  each  season,  the  quantity  of 
water  which  it  represents,  by  paying  therefor  a  certain  price  per  inch.  If  he  does  not 
wish  to  use  the  water  himself,  he  can  sell  his  privilege,  for  the  season,  to  whom  he  pleases. 
And,  again,  if  this  share  of  stock  entitles  him  to  purchase  80  inches,  and  he  finds  that  60 
inches  is  all  that  he  requires,  he  can  sell  his  right  to  the  remaining  20  inches  to  whoever 
applies  for  it.  If  the  income  from  the  sale  of  water  is  not  sufficient  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  canal  and  the  pay  of  officers,  an  assessment  is  levied  upon  the  stockholders  to  meet 
the  deficiency ;  and  if  there  should  be  a  revenue  from  sale  of  water  to  parties  not  holding 
shares,  a  dividend  is  declared.  This  is  the  plan  that  governs  in  the  Salt  River  Valley, 
the  Maricopa,  and  the  Grand  Canals. 

The  quantity  used  per  acre  under  these  canals,  varies  from  one-half  to  three-eighths  of 
an  inch,  during  the  irrigating  season.  Experienced  irrigators  find  the  latter  quantity 
abundant  to  produce  a  crop.  Here,  as  in  all  other  irrigated  regions,  it  is  found  that 
continuous  flooding  for  a  number  of  years,  increases  the  duty  of  water.  Several  farmers, 
south  of  Phoenix,  do  not  use  more  than  one-quarter  of  an  inch  per  acre  for  the  production 
of  a  crop,  and  some  get  along  with  much  less.  In  the  vineyard  of  Mr.  John  Montgomery, 
water  is  found  at  a  depth  of  12  feet  below  the  surface;  the  roots  of  the  plants  have 
penetrated  to  the  moisture,  and  he  has  not  irrigated  his  vines  for  two  years.  In  the 
Tempe  Canal,  which  is  controlled  by  a  private  company,  each  share-owner  takes  as  much 
as  he  requires,  and  as  often  as  he  requires  it — there  being  no  measurement  and  no 
limit,  except  the  supply  in  the  river.  Yet,  under  this  wasteful  system,  it  is  found  that 
60  to  80  inches  is  enough  to  produce  a  crop  on  160  acres. 

There  is  an  extravagant  use  of  water  in  the  Pueblo  Viejo  Valley.  In  that  locality 
water  is  divided  into  "irrigating  streams,"  each  "stream"  containing  one  hundred  any 
forty-four  miner's  inches,  under  a  four-inch  pressure.  This  body  of  water  is  used  to 
irrigate  eighty  acres  during  the  season.  This  is,  perhaps,  the  most  wasteful  use  of  the  fluid 
that  any  portion  of  the  arid  region  can  show.  In  the  Verde  Valley,  the  duty  of  water  is 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  to  the  acre.  It  is  acknowledged  that  crops  could  be  raised  with 
much  less,  but  as  there  is  an  abundance  in  the  stream,  each  man  takes  as  much  as  he 
pleases.  The  quantity  of  water  used  per  acre  in  the  farming  settlements  of  Final,  Cochise, 
Apache,  and  Pima  will  range  from  one-half  to  one  inch.  Wherever  irrigation  is  prac- 
ticed in  the  Territory  there  is  waste  and  extravagance  in  the  use  of  water.  Ignorance  and 
inexperience  in  the  application  of  it  is,  in  most  cases,  the  main  cause.  Where  the  careful 
cultivator  and  experienced  irrigator  finds  three-eighths  of  an  inch  per  acre  entirely 
sufficient,  his  neighbor,  farming  the  same  character  of  soil  and  raising  the  same  kind  of 
crops,  will  not  be  satisfied  with  less  than  an  inch  to  the  acre. 

COST   OF  WATER. 

The  cost  of  water  to  the  Arizona  irrigator  is  another  difficult  matter  to  determine. 
Water  "  rights  "  for  the  irrigation  of  a  quarter  section  of  land  in  the  Salt  River  Valley 
vary  from  $500  in  the  Grand,  to  $1,000  in  the  Arizona  Canals.  Having  secured  a  "right," 
the  cultivator  has  then  to  pay  so  much,  yearly,  for  the  water  he  requires.  In  the  Grand 
Canal  the  price  is  $2.00  per  inch,  in  the  Maricopa  about  the  same,  and  in  the  Salt  River 
Valley  Canal  $1.75  per  inch.  Under  the  rules  adopted  by  the  Arizona  Canal  Company, 
the  farmer  is  taxed  at  the  rate  of  $1.25  per  acre,  for  every  acre  he  cultivates  yearly.  It  will 
be  seen  that  this  system  is  radically  different  from  that  which  prevails  not  only  in  Arizona 
but  in  nearly  all  of  the  irrigated  regions  of  the  West.  Under  the  plan  adopted  by  this 
company,  the  water  is  wedded  to  the  land,  neither  can  be  sold  separately;  while  in  all  the 
other  incorporated  canals  in  the  valley  the  reverse  prevails,  and  water  shares  pass  from 
hand  to  hand  like  any  other  commercial  paper.  The  danger  of  the  latter  policy  lies  in 
the  opportunity  it  presents  for  the  control  of  the  stock  by  unscrupulous  speculators. 


IRRIGATION.  27 

The  Arizona  Canal  Co.  issues  no  stock  to  purchasers  of  water  rights,  and  conse- 
quently they  have  no  voice  in  its  management  or  control ;  while  in  all  the  other  companies 
shareholders  have  a  vote  and  a  voice  in  the  regulation  of  their  affairs.  Water  owners  in 
the  Tempe  Canal,  which  is  not  incorporated,  pay  nothing,  directly,  for  the  use  of  the 
water,  but  are  liable  to  an  assessment  each  year  for  maintenance  of  works  and  pay  of 
officers. 

The  waters  of  the  canal  which  supplies  Mesa  City,  are  rented  to  the  farmers  at  the 
rate  of  $30  per  share  per  year — a  share  being  sufficient  to  irrigate  thirty  acres — making 
the  cost  one  dollar  an  acre.  In  the  distribution  of  water  from  the  irrigating  canals  of  the 
Territory  there  is  but  one  feature  worthy  of  any  commendation.  That  is  the  policy  which 
has  been  adopted  by  the  Grand,  Maricopa,  and  Salt  River  Valley  Canals  of  selling  water 
to  those  entitled  to  purchase,  in  such  quantities  as  the  irrigator  finds  sufficient  for  the 
production  of  a  crop.  With  a  correct  system  of  measurements  and  careful  supervision  of 
works,  this  method  is  a  good  one.  It  encourages  the  consumer  to  be  economical  in  the 
use  of  water,  knowing  that  he  can  sell  what  portion  of  his  "  right "  he  does  not  use,  to 
some  one  who  wants  it.  It  is  the  only  just  and  sensible  policy,  as  no  one  should  be 
compelled  to  pay  for  more  water  than  he  requires.  For  water  corporations  to  adopt  an 
opposite  policy  seems  short-sighted.  The  less  water  required  to  cultivate  a  tract  of  land, 
the  more  water  rights  the  company  will  be  able  to  dispose  of,  and  the  larger  the  area  that 
will  be  reclaimed. 

TERRITORIAL   LAWS. 

Arizona,  being  one  of  the  oldest  irrigated  regions  of  the  western  continent,  a  stranger 
would  naturally  expect  to  find  here  a  well-matured  legal  code  regulating  the  control  and 
distribution  of  its  waters.  In  this  he  would  be  disappointed.  The  water  question  is  in  as 
unsettled  a  condition  here  as  in  California ;  and  while  the  Territory  has  thus  far  escaped 
the  flood  of  litigation  which  has  swept  over  the  Golden  State,  an  increase  of  population 
and  a  greater  demand  for  water  gives  Avarning  that  it  may  not  be  so  fortunate  in  the 
future.  Our  bill  of  rights  declares  that  "  all  streams,  lakes,  and  ponds  are  public  property," 
and  that  no  one  has  the  right  to  appropriate  them  exclusively  to  his  own  private  use.  The 
Territorial  statutes  declare  that  all  rivers,  creeks,  and  streams  of  running  water  "are 
applicable  to  the  purposes  of  irrigation  and  mining ;"  and  the  further  declaration  is  made 
that  "  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Territory  who  own  or  possess  irrigable  lands  shall  have 
the  right  to  construct  public  or  private  acequiax,  and  obtain  the  necessary  water  for  the 
same  from  any  convenient  river,  creek,  or  stream."  This  is  the  gist  of  the  Territorial 
law  relating  to  irrigation.  It  merely  recognizes  the  right  of  appropriation,  but  makes  no 
provision  for  the  proper  regulation  of  the  same.  Neither  does  it  make  any  provision  for 
the  control,  distribution,  measurement,  or  sale  of  the  precious  fluid.  Individuals  or 
corporations  may  appropriate  and  control  large  quantities  of  water,  but  there  is  no  legal 
supervision  over  their  acts,  nor  any  safeguards  thrown  around  the  consumer,  There  is 
nothing  to  prevent  criminal  waste,  nor  is  there  any  check  to  corporate  extortion.  And 
yet  there  is  nothing  which  should  be  guarded  more  carefully  or  prized  more  dearly. 
Arizona's  mineral  wealth  has  been  called  "  the  jewel  of  her  sovereignty,"  but  her  rivers 
and  streams  are  the  arteries  through  which  courses  her  very  life  blood. 

Priority  of  appropriation  has  been  recognized  by  our  Territorial  courts,  but  where 
rights  are  so  vaguely  defined  and  appropriation  so  unrestricted,  there  must  be  a  lack  of 
that  feeling  of  security  which  should  attach  to  the  possession  of  water  as  well  as  to  land, 
in  a  country  where  irrigation  is  a  necessity.  The  greatest  evil  that  can  befall  such  a 
country  is  an  insecure  and  undetermined  title  to  water.  In  arid  regions,  like  Arizona,  the 
values  are  entirely  in  the  water,  without  it  the  soil  must  always  remain  a  desert.  People 
seeking  homes  here  realize  this  fact,  and  desire,  first  of  all,  to  know  that  the  supply  is 
abundant,  and  that  the  titles  are  secure.  Is  it  not  then  of  primary  importance  to  every 
one  who  has  the  interest  of  the  Territory  at  heart  to  have  this  matter  adjusted  on  a  basis 
just  and  equitable  to  all? 

The  necessity  for  wholesome  legislative  control  over  the  wholesale  appropriation  of 


28  IRRIGATION. 

water,  is  apparent  to  every  one.  Large  quantities  are  being  claimed  by  corporations,  and 
in  a  short  time  every  inch,  available  for  agriculture,  will  be  appropriated.  The  possession 
of  the  water  by  those  companies,  virtually,  gives  them  control  of  the  land.  Now,  while 
such  reclamation  enterprises  are  of  great  benefit  to  the  Territory,  and  worthy  of  all 
legitimate  encouragement,  it  is  yet  the  duty  of  the  people  of  Arizona  to  see  that  its  public 
waters  are  not  controlled  by  monopolies. 

The  large  canals  now  being  constructed  in  the  valleys  of  the  Gila,  as  well  as  the 
Arizona  Canal,  in  the  Salt  River  Valley,  are  speculative  enterprises,  out  of  which  their 
projectors  expect  to  make  money.  This  is  proper  and  entirely  legitimate,  and  those  who 
have  engaged  in  such  ventures  deserve  to  be  well  remunerated.  But  while  favoring  every 
public  enterprise  of  this  character,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  people  to  see  to  it  that  such  cor- 
porations do  not  misuse  the  powers  which  the  control  of  large  quantities  of  water  naturally 
gives  them.  The  primary  principle  that  water  is  a  gift  from  Nature,  and  as  necessary  to 
man's  existence  as  the  air  he  breathes,  should  not  be  lost  sight  of.  For  the  construction 
of  irrigation  works  and  the  bringing  of  water  to  the  cultivator,  there  should  be  given  a 
fair  and  liberal  compensation.  This  is  a  proposition  that  will  not  be  disputed.  Neither 
can  the  right  of  the  people  to  prevent  unjust  and  extortionate  water  charges,  be  denied. 
If  there  is  no  check  upon  the  actions  of  large  canal  companies,  the  farmer  and  fruit- 
grower must  rely  entirely  upon  their  sense  of  justice.  The  people  of  California  and 
Colorado,  realizing  this  danger,  have  made  legal  provisions  which  effectually  prevent 
extortion  by  water  companies. 

The  loose  system  of  measurements  should  be  done  away  with,  and  wastage  should  be 
prevented.  In  a  country  like  ours  where  every  inch  of  water  is  precious,  reckless  waste 
ought  to  be  made  a  criminal  offence.  The  present  system  of  claiming  thousands  of  inches 
of  water,  which  are  not  used,  is  untenable  both  in  law  and  equity.  No  individual  or 
corporation  has  a  right  to  any  more  water  than  he  or  they  actually  use.  This  is  the  only 
true  policy,  and  is  recognized  in  all  irrigating  countries  where  the  waters  are  under 
legislative  control. 

The  waters  of  all  rivers  and  streams  in  the  Territory  which  are  utilized  for  irrigation, 
should  be  accurately  measured,  and  the  quantity  available  at  all  seasons  should  be  known. 
This  would  not  only  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  irrigator,  but  would  do  away  with  the 
present  system  of  unchecked  appropriation.  When  the  volume  of  water  in  a  stream  was 
known,  and  the  share  of  each  appropriator  definitely  determined,  it  would  assure  to  the 
farmer  a  certainty  that  the  water  company  would  be  able  to  deliver  the  quantity  he 
contracted  for. 

Irrigation  to  Arizona  is  what  the  life  blood  is  to  man,  or  the  piston  rod  to  the  steam 
engine.  The  just  and  equitable  control  and  distribution  of  the  public  waters  of  the  Terri- 
tory assure  to  our  fertile  valleys  a  large  and  permanent  population  and  a  prosperous  future. 
It  is  a  vital  question  to  our  people,  and  one  which  heretofore  has  received  but  little 
consideration.  Yet  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  corner  stone  of  Arizona's  prosperity 
rests  upon  it.  How  important,  then,  is  it  to  the  general  welfare  that  our  irrigation  system 
should  be  upon  a  secure  foundation  of  equity  and  justice,  preserving  for  all  their  rights  in 
one  of  the  most  precious  gifts  of  Nature,  and  doing  no  wrong  to  vested  interests. 

It  is  for  those  directly  interested,  and  with  the  light  of  experience  to  guide  them,  to 
decide  how  this  important  problem  shall  be  solved.  It  is  a  matter  deserving  of  more 
thought  and  attention  than  has  yet  been  bestowed  upon  it.  Its  satisfactory  solution  is  only 
a  matter  of  time;  but  it  would  be  well  if  the  people  of  these  valleys  would  consider  the 
question  from  a  broader  and  more  liberal  standpoint  than  that  of  mere  self-interest.  It  i> 
admitted  that  law  of  some  kind  is  a  necessity,  but  what  particular  laws  a  people  should 
have  on  any  particular  subject,  is  for  the  people  themselves  to  decide.  In  conclusion,  it 
may  be  said  that  these  papers  have  been  collated  and  published  with  the  hope  that  they 
may  prove  of  some  benefit  to  the  Arizona  farmer.  If  the  data  contained  therein  shall 
help  him  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  irrigation  question,  and  if  a  knowledge  of  the 
laws  and  regulations  governing  it  in  other  countries  shall  assist  him  to  deal  intelligently 
with  it  here  at  home,  the  effort  will  not  have  been  in  vain. 


